Living in Our Own Soap Opera

In an e-newsletter I get, there was a link to a site so that one could get a 'soap opera' name. Of course I had to try it. (My soap name is 'Nivea Killington.') This brought up a memory of being in a Tee shirt shop, and laughing hysterically at a pink one with a big silver star, and the words "Starring in My Own Soap Opera."

How true this is! We're not only living in our own soap opera, we're living in our family's soap, our communities soap, our place of employments soap, our countries soap, etc. etc. Layers upon layers of story created by and for us, to have an interesting experience of this particular dimension.

Someone asked me the other day "Why can't our lives just be peaceful - why do they have to have drama?" I thought about a rejection letter I received once -- on it the editor had written, "add some tension, some drama, and it will be sellable.' After I got over being rejected, I thought about it. I mean really - would you watch a TV show if it didn't have any drama? In other words, there's nothing wrong with drama -- just don't get carried away with it.

In New Thought we're told we're the author, the director, the actor, and the critic of the story of our lives. Perhaps we could ask ourselves:

Am I owning my stories, or thinking someone else is causing them?

We are the meaning givers. No matter what is happening in our story, or who is participating - we are the ones who are giving it meaning. Change the meaning, change the experience.

How much attention am I giving to the story?

Am I replaying the story over and over again? Is it taking precedence over everything else in my life? How many people have I told? Stop focusing on it! Come back into the present moment.

How much longer am I willing to live in the story?

Years ago, I heard loud banging noises one night and discovered my garage was being broken into. I called the police. They told me thieves often return to the scene of the crime. I ended up not being able to sleep that night, or many nights after. Finally I called a dear friend. After I told him the story, he asked me “How long was the actual experience of discovering the break in?” I thought about it and answered “60 seconds.” He then asked me “How long are you going to let 60 seconds ruin your life?” I started laughing. I realized that a 60 second memory was affecting my health and my sanity and had been for two weeks! From that moment, all fear was gone.

Some dramas are a lot longer – like the fires in Colorado, the hurricane in Florida, no power in Maryland, the starvation in Somalia and the wars in Syria, etc.. These things are all real, yet the same questions can be asked.

The Truth is, there's only One Story, and that's a Divine Story, with an infinite number of ways of expressing it. No matter how desperate or dramatic a soap opera it is, it’s always a story about returning to one’s Self. Let's be gentle with ourselves while in the process, yet remembering we're always coming 'home'.

SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT:

We live in an infinite field of potentiality. A field that is Divine Energy - everywhere present, all powerful and all knowing. This Energy is our life force. It animates our bodies, and is used by us

though our thoughts and feelings.

Remembering this, I now declare my 'soap operas' are fear-free. I focus on the good, the exciting and the True. I create stories that bless myself and others, and are wonderful experiences for all.

I also declare that when I forget and find myself in the midst of a painful soap opera, I can rely on the Divine Presence Within to gently and humorously remind me of who I am, and guide me back to my right and perfect Path.

How grateful I am to know every story, no matter how peaceful or painful, is leading me back to my Real Self.

I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are so, and so it is.