Creating the Space for God to Flow through Us

Last night when I was watching the finals of The Voice host, Carson Daly, asked one of the finalists, front-runner 16 year old Sawyer Fredericks, how he’s so strong at being in the moment on national TV? (He’s the most solid performer this season, where every live performance has landed him in the top 10 for iTunes downloads).

Sawyer’s response was incredible (spiritual beyond his years). He said, “I’m not really worried about going home because I know I will always enjoy music, whether I’m here or on the farm” (his family lives on a farm in upstate New York, where he’s homeschooled).

Let’s be real. Most of us would be nervous if we were in his position or a similar position where we “put ourselves out there”…the results would matter to us. And that’s just it…we get nervous because we want something in return, whereas Sawyer let that piece of the equation go.

We get nervous when we perceive something to be at stake, whether it’s our future or some aspect of our psychological self (i.e., the “psychological loss” we feel from failure).

Sawyer didn’t perceive anything to be at stake. He loves music whether it’s singing to an audience of 20 cows on his farm or performing on live TV in front of millions of viewers. If we truly love something, it shouldn’t matter what the outcome is. All that matters is that we love doing it, whatever “it” is.

Problems start to arise when we need things to go a certain way to give us a sense of security. Sometimes this is physical security (if this doesn’t work out, I can’t pay my bills), but more often it’s psychological security (if this doesn’t work out, I’m going to feel like a failure; if I get voted off, it’s because people don’t like me or think I’m not good enough).

The goal in letting go of the idea that anything is at stake is to see that no matter what the outcome is, you are okay. Coming from this perspective, purifies our expression since it’s no longer tainted with a need to get something in return.

We give a situation or experience more weight (i.e., the idea that something is at stake) when we take the approach that the outcome determines how we should feel about ourselves. When we do this, we totally give our power away.

And the only way we can give our power a way, in such a manner, is to believe that we’re something that can be defined by the outcome of the experience. We are operating under the assumption that we’re something that can be added to or taken away from at random…this is a very fearful place to live from.

When we enter experiences from the perspective that they can neither take from, nor add to, our stature (because we’re already whole and complete), the only thing left to do is to freely give away all that we have to offer (love in whatever form God chooses to express through us in a given moment).

This is what happens when we remove the fear-based desire to “get something in return” or to “protect something from being taken away”. We clear the path for the divine to flow through us…something that has been so beautifully demonstrated through each of Sawyer’s performances on The Voice.

The next time you feel as if you’re about to “put yourself out there”, try to identify what it is that you perceive to be at stake and see if you can enter the situation having completely let go of the outcome, knowing that whatever happens can never add to or take from your stature of already being whole and complete.

In my experience, it helps to surrender through prayer. If I’m about to give a talk (or even before I write each blog), I always pray for God to work through me to deliver whatever message He sees fit. I ask for the right message, words, phrases, analogies, etc. to flow forth.

I still get nervous before I give a talk (because I haven’t fully let go of the perception that there’s something at stake), but prayer always helps to free up the nerves, so that there’s space for Him to move through me.

The more we’re able to consciously recognize our own wholeness, the better able we are to give of ourselves without regard for the outcome. And in so doing, we become beautiful conduits for the divine to work through.

To creating the space for God to flow through us,

Shanna

P.S. Here’s the interview with Sawyer, Pharrell and Carson Daly:

And here’s one of his many beautiful performances: