facing reality without mental boundaries

I found a lot of meaning in the following quote from Michael Singer (I don't know where it came from...probably one of his CDs):

"I free myself from the limits of my mental model. I accept reality.  I go beyond my model by not believing it. I face reality without mental boundaries.  I go beyond my comfort zone by handling what is happening NOW and relaxing."  

As I have said in recent blog posts, my spiritual practices include giving myself permission to have feelings and letting go of thoughts related to the feelings and situations in my life.  It became clear to me this week that accepting reality (i.e., what is showing up in my life) has absolutely nothing to do with the past or the future although, it requires conscious effort on my part to separate the present from the past and future.  When certain situations happen I sometimes find myself saying things like "Of course, things always turn out this way" or "When am I going to get this right?" or "So and so always acts this way" or I may just expect certain areas of my life to go in a certain direction because they always have in the past.  In other words, I fall prey to expecting my future to turn out like my past.

Back to Michael's quote.  These projections or expectations form the limits of my mental model.

I can choose to let all of these limits go.  I can focus on what is happening now, feel the feelings that are present in this moment (they will move through me as long as I let go of the thoughts that keep them in place), and relax.  Just because I have encountered a similar situation in the past has nothing to do with what will happen now or in the future.  If I stay stuck in negativity or worry about not being able to move forward I will block myself from receiving the good that the Universe has to offer me.  Perhaps I will block myself from knowing God.  God can be found only in this moment.  If I am consumed with worry or concern about the future or if I stay stuck with my limited mental model about how life works I will miss the opportunity to open my heart to God expressing Itself in this moment.

The reality about my life is that I have no idea what is in store for me.  I only have this moment to deal with.    I would much rather use this moment to open myself to God's grace and allow my life to unfold according to God's will, as opposed to viewing life through the lens of my limiting beliefs which are based on past experiences.

I face reality without mental boundaries.