Help for your Internal Obstacles:

A Better Way to “Let Go”

(Reprints)

(Writer’s Note: I started my Blog on WordPress in February of 2026. Now, as I have started also posting on Substack, let me take this opportunity to reintroduce myself to people who really don’t know who I am, or what I am about. So, here is another of my “Reprints”, essays/articles I wrote, but you may have missed! Think of this as reruns of a beloved TV show that you never got a chance to watch the first time. Enjoy, and get inspired. Have a few more posts to get over to Substack–here is another one.)

From April 6, 2026: (Originally titled: “Help for the Obstacles”)

Go fly a kite! (Just kidding). In writing my “How I Practice” posts, I realized I wanted to delve deeper into a specific Practice I have that can really help, when you are being bombarded by your Ego, Expectations, and Myths. ( https://align-with-love.com/2026/09/14/the-unholy-trinity-part-1/ for more background.) As I have said over and over, I often mess up with this one too. But if you “give it a whirl” and play along, I think it might change your life.

The Practice is three words:

Release. Receive. Continue.

The first, Release, is to “let go” as so many other people have said. BUT, releasing is more than just “letting go”. It’s a cliche to say “let go”, and I am not knocking the ideal, but I think there is more we can do.

I think there is a better way to practice with letting go.

When my Dad was alive, he used to say “Release” to whoever had something he wanted, which usually was the TV remote. Years later, after he had passed, I re-heard that phrase in his voice, and saw it was a profound concept. I had an epiphany, and it was not Christmas-time. Release is more than just letting go–it is loosening your grip on whatever. This dovetails nicely with the Approach of Lightness. I can hold something tightly, like a pencil, and then you have to pry it out of my hand. Or, I can hold it in my palm out to you, and you can take it. I released it to you. I was still holding it. I didn’t drop it on the ground. I held it lightly. I was OK if you took the pencil.

When I feel myself tense up–I can relax. I can release all the expectations I have for the situation I find myself in. (Or I can release some of them. At least I can try to.) I have not yet gotten into the tagline for this Blog (at the time of the original writing): Intention. Response. Action. Suffice it to say for now, releasing and the components I am going to write about, are the core part of my proposed Responses.

I hope you can see that Releasing is “letting go”, but also giving space for the reality that you can’t always let go easily. But maybe you could loosen your grip. Maybe you could loosen your grip on your opinion, or needing so-and-so to do this and that, or that.

Receive: Receive what is happening to you. Welcome it. I am NOT saying to let yourself be abused, mistreated, or beat up. Extreme violence and physical attack, are not to be received. They have to be escaped from! I am talking about all the little annoyances of life. Examples are numerous: the neighbor who fires up the lawnmower right as you want to take a nap. Or the kid who just seems to push your buttons–all the time. Traffic, lines, and a myriad of other happenings, on and on–can you receive them with some patience? How about some gratitude?

There are more extreme things, like a bad medical diagnosis, of course. How can you receive it? I am not saying to jump for joy if you have cancer-but what can you receive in it? How can your response to such a diagnosis help others? With any serious illness-what work can you do on yourself? What can it teach you? Recall what I said in my Openness post:

What is the Universe bringing to me, teaching me, or giving me?

Receive that answer, even if you don’t like it. Walk with it. Live in it. It may “suck”, and if it’s a terminal illness, yours or a loved one, it will not be fun. But I believe we must find Alignment in even these terrible things. God is there to be found, seemingly hidden in these tragedies, but He/She is there. I promise–I truly believe that.

Continue: Keep going. Yes, keep going. Don’t stay fixated on whatever. Maybe you did not word that conversation as well as you could. Maybe you were just “off” in you soul in that interaction, and it just wasn’t the best version of you at that moment. Release it, receive whatever you may need to learn from it, and move on. As an OCD ruminating person, I HAVE to stop myself. I have to trust that I did my best, and if someone was truly hurt by what I said or did, they will let me know. (My wife frequently lets me know when I did not say something well.)

Don’t stay stuck! Maybe you are not sure how something was perceived by someone. Then ask. Yes, it will feel scary, but sometimes continuing looks like getting feedback. Be careful, of course. Sometimes I feel like I am sure someone is unhappy or upset, as my frequent Narrative is I am usually messing up somehow. But, that is NOT always true! I’d like to think that when you sincerely try to do the things I wrote about, like Openness and Lightness, people sense that, and will give you grace. So try an honest request for feedback. As Peter Scazzero says in his Emotionally Healthy Spirituality work: “How did you experience me?” is a great question to ask. A little kindness, politeness and humility–go a loooong way, especially in our polarized American culture.

There may have been a terrible mistake made, like a broken marriage, or some misdeed that cost a life. There may have been something you can NOT undo. Even if you apologize, you have altered someone’s life forever. You must make your amends, and leave the rest in God’s care. You have to move on, in the proper time, and in the proper way. But you must move on–the Great Flow of God’s Love and Presence compels you too. God will take care to heal the other people, too. Trust.

I conclude with a Christian analogy, that is one of Jesus’s more unusual stories:

43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first.… (Matthew’s Gospel: Chapter 12:43-45)

There are many more scholarly interpretations of this, but I think there is a lesson here. When we let go of our own “unclean spirits”, and do not put anything else in it’s place, we have a hard time filling that void. Anyone in addiction recovery knows they can not just stop the drink/drug/compulsion and expect to get well. Meetings are needed, counseling, and deep soul work, or they will be back to their old behaviors!

So it is with letting go. I believe you must release, and receive, and continue. There must be more than just “letting go”. As I have already written, (See my Archives page on the Blog Menubar in WordPress), I have to frequently release my ego, expectations, and myths! I have to receive Openness, Lightness, and Alignment. While I have spoke of them as Approaches, there is a component of them that can not be “done”, but only received. (I said we would get mystical here sometimes.)

For each person reading this, you will have your own way of hearing this and incorporating it into your being. Sit with it. Let it soak in.

I find this Practice of Releasing, Receiving and Continuing to be a lifeline on many days. I can notice my agitation and unsettledness and start loosening my grip. I can hold lightly to that metaphorical pencil I mentioned. Then I can receive what is being brought to me, even if I do not like it, which is often. Following that, I can continue, a little lighter, a little more relaxed, and a little more Aligned with Love. I can be a little more like God, and be in His/Her Image.

Don’t we all want some more peace and poise? Try this Practice. If you are religious/spiritual, you already kind-of know it, but perhaps this fresh take will propel you onward in your growth. I hope so. New to anything spiritual, or mental-wellness? This can still help you! Try it. Breath, and loosen you grip. Receive the situation or person–you don’t have to be 100% OK with whatever, but you can continue with some sanity in your soul, more Aligned with the Divine.

Until next time, blessings! May God fill your heart with peace and presence.

Be Open. Be Light.

-Eric, the Wordsmith

Like what you read? Let me know-I appreciate your feedback.

BP62-R19

Have thoughts or comments? You can click on the comment link, or you can email me at the address provided. Have ideas you want me to write about, or questions? Want to tell me how much you enjoy (or don’t enjoy) my content? All are acceptable, but be nice, please. Thanks! alignwithlove85@gmail.com.

Get your Soul under Control!

How to get some sanity back in your life.

Alphabet blocks and toys scattered across a playroom rug by a rainy window
A Play Room very over-filled!

Oh, Lord have mercy! I call myself the Wordsmith, more as a “handle”, than a statement that I am so good at writing. Like most writers, sometimes my writing is on a schedule, and other times the words come from something weighing on my heart. I have a number of blog “drafts” hanging out on my Mac. Some are simply a title, and a few notes, which is for when I may be stumped to write. This one was one like that, but it turned out it goes with my life this week!

I am a drama-queen. I freely admit this, and there is a feeling of deep shame that I can’t stay “calm”, as I feel like EVERYONE else can do this, and I can’t. (Slight exaggeration.) I was always this way. I came from a family of people who got loud to make their opinions known. I came from a family of people that got really, really angry, like throwing things and such. I came from a family of people that were VERY particular about everything. There was a right way to do everything. There was at least a better way to do everything. We even joke about our family name, and say: “There’s that xxxx-Temper, again!!” This is not to say anything bad about my family-of-origin. I know they loved me, and they meant well.

My soul, my Inner Life, my emotions and mind, are often like the Play Room in this week’s blog picture: stuff all over the place, and it looks rainy outside to me. As I reflect on this,

I think that somehow as children we “hear” things, whether they are spoken or not, and we then interpret the world in ways that we don’t necessarily grow out of. Our Inner Lives stay a jumbled mess, and we don’t even know it.

As I say repeatedly, I am not a therapist, or counselor, even though I did study counseling in school. But I am not licensed, so these writings are my opinions, so do not let me override any good direction you get from those more learned than me.

I do think and feel that some of us get “stuck” in childlike perceptions of the world, though. We get stuck in childish reactions to the world, like me. I recently was working from home, as I have a “desk job” that allows me to do that. As most of us know, the modern world is filled with passwords. Yes, I know why, and I know they are important. But other times, I am sure they are a tool of Satan to torment us! Hell may be a place where you can never remember your password to your computer, bank accounts, or Netflix.

As many of us know so well, I got “locked out” of some work related software. I was in the middle of a problem, toggling between programs on the computer, and I must have messed up my password to re-log in, and I was furious! I slammed my fist on the desk. I said some bad words, too. Then I closed my Home Office window, so I could say more bad words. Can’t have the neighbors think I am too much of a lunatic, can I? (They probably know. I’m sure they know.) I had to call my IT folks at my job, and I was cranky with them, and then I felt bad. I was more cranky, and my serenity was shot.

This was all for “dumb stuff”. No one died. Password was reset. I resumed the project I was working on.

Why? Oh why, do I get so upset over stupid stuff?

Maybe you scoff, as you are one of the “Calm People” that secretly I resent. (I also love it when super- calm people melt down. I feel like: “See, you lose it sometimes too. ” And I am secretly happy inside.) But why do I get so upset? Some of it is immaturity. Somehow at a half-century old, I still insist life go my way, nothing go awry, and nobody disrupts my plans. Not you, not God, NOBODY. Yikes, that is some “King-Baby” thinking as they say in the 12-Step circles! The idea is that some of us want to be treated as a King (or Queen), but act like a baby, and a spoiled one at that.

As I now have written quite a bit on Aligning with Love, I am now forced to go back to my own writings, and say: “Oh I wrote A LOT about this. I probably wrote about this first for me….” So, in these “frustration moments” of Flow-Shift, I have to start leaning to breathe and pause. I wish somebody had taught me this instead of Math and History. I think in my childhood, mental health and wellbeing was kind of an after-thought.

Emotional regulation was not as important as being able to fill in the correct bubble!

(And I liked getting that bubble filled in right.)

I know that many people did work on this, and do, but I know how I was feeling internally was less important than spitting out answers. So, I had to learn this stuff the “hard way”. But because of that, I write for you now. So maybe, just maybe, you can learn a thing or two, and live a little better and saner.

We will still suffer, there will still be problems, but we do NOT have to make them worse!!

As I wrote last week: there is a Path, there is a Practice, and there is a Way.

Emotional turbulence can be replaced with some quietness. I don’t mean we don’t feel it–but we do not have to overwhelmed by it. We do not have to over-react to frustrations! And I say loudly: Amen!

God can help us, and do for us what we can not do for ourselves. If you are not religious or spiritual, you may have groaned. But be honest, how is it working doing things in your own strength, smarts, and resources? You may be very successful, but eventually something will go awry. Money can not buy you peace. Cleverness can not stop all the craziness of others, or yourself. I think I found some things that can help. This is in no way “better” than others’ ideas, but complements and enhances what so many have already said!

On the other side of my crazy outbursts, I sit with God. Yes, I go to quiet places, whether in my home, or my job. I sit and Practice. What do I practice?

One thing is to pray!

I ask, and re-ask, God to open me. Asking God is part of praying.

You may talk to yourself. You surely talk to others, why not the Creator of all?

I ask God to Show me-Himself/Herself/Themself. I believe God is masculine, and feminine, and beyond it all. I ask God to open me to what I call “the Sense”, which is a sense of God, of God’s Presence, of God’s working in the world. I believe it is always there, whether we believe it, see, or perceive it. This is that “Great Flow” I have written of before. (I will be reprinting my Theory of the Realms to explain this more.) https://align-with-love.com/2026/04/14/the-theory-of-the-realms/

I then ask God to Guide me-to give me His Lightness with myself. I ask God to slow down my need to have my opinions be expressed and made reality. There is a place to feel, emote, and share your truth. See the Psalms in the Bible! But we must hold all those internal thoughts and feelings more lightly sometimes!!

I finally ask God to Lead me- “on the outside”, in my interactions with others, and in the situations I find myself in. I need a lot of help, with my ego, expectations, and myths (The Unholy Trinity). They are right there to trip me up! https://align-with-love.com/2026/09/14/the-unholy-trinity-part-1/

I believe deeply that the fixes for our societal ills, and individual brokenness, can only be corrected by Aligning ourselves with a Higher Power. I perceive that as Christ, but I know others perceive it differently.

We can still work together with differing views. Yes, we can.

I know I tend to go on and on–and so I should “land the plane.” If you are at all like me, and blow up, and blow out, with your thoughts and feelings, ask God to help. I just gave you a simple prayer to pray:

Show me. Guide me. Lead me.

Then wait a moment for some direction. It may come as a nudge, or intuition. Maybe the phone will ring, or you eye will fall on something. Maybe you will flip open to that passage from Scripture that is the anwser for the moment. Maybe there is no answer, and only a quiet knowing that you should just do what is in front of you: the next work task, or go to bed, or whatever.

Too often, we want an answer, or some dramatic thing to happen, when we need direction. I believe God is often a God of gentle nudges. Consider this verse of Scripture:

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” From the Biblical book of the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 30, verse 21.

Maybe the Voice will not be in words–but it WILL be there. It will be there, if you are open to it–promise. Then maybe you can be a little calmer and directed in those “frustration moments”.

And that is how we start becoming more Aligned with Love, by being kinder to ourselves, and others. We become more aligned as we receive more of God’s loving and good guidance.

That is how we get our souls, that Inner Life, under control. I want that. You want that. God wants that for us all. Let’s cooperate. All of us.

(I think I can open the window again…)

Stay Open. Stay Light.

-Eric, the Wordsmith, (sometimes a lunatic)

Like what you read? Let me know-I appreciate your feedback.

BP61

Have thoughts or comments? You can click on the comment link below, or you can email me at the address provided. Have ideas you want me to write about, or questions? Want to tell me how much you enjoy (or don’t enjoy) my content? All are acceptable, but be nice, please. Thanks! alignwithlove85@gmail.com.

What is Aligning with Love?

(A little more explanation)

With my “Reprints” (reruns), I have been slowly putting all that I had out on WordPress over on Substack. I have found the grind of creating new content multiple times a week to be a lot. Today I felt a nudge to write something “new”.

So here I go again. Maybe you read some of my blog, or you liked a note or post, and then went on with your day. This is fine, and I appreciate every bit of interest I get. Here’s my Substack link, for those who may be on WordPress only: https://wordsmith2511.substack.com .

But my intention is not simply to get a like, but to get you to pause.

And in that pause-I want to start help changing your life.

Didn’t want that? That’s ok-you can come back when you are ready/able. I’ll be here.

As I have written over and over again, I am not a pastor, therapist, or counselor. I am an accountant by day, but I do believe God has called me to teach about Aligning with Love. In fact, I sensed that was what I should call this blog: Align with Love.

But what does that even mean?

Maybe the phrase resonates with you-maybe not. If you are a person of Faith, coming from that Judeo-Christian background, this will be easier to get into, but not essential. If you have abandoned your faith, or always felt Christianity was lacking, I get it. I had my anti-Christian phase, and I am not really “mainstream” in my practice of Christianity anymore, either. I have woven together 12-Step Practice, my own mystical experiences with God, time in Scripture, and time with various forms of spiritual literature.

Why should you care about Aligning with Love?

If some of you are like me, you get up each day, and pray or read Scripture, or study the Bible, or go to Church–all the “stuff” we Christians are supposed to do. But something still seems missing. For me, I lose my temper. I get impatient with everyone. Like everyone. I feel like I had a “good time” with the Lord-got insights when I prayed, and wrote powerful things in my journal. But before long, it all seems to evaporate. I am busy with to-do’s, from work or home. I soon forget to pray, or be open, or light (some of my Approaches. When it is time to “sit” with the Lord again, I am spending most of it trying to get recentered. This is not bad, per se, but I want to be “flowing with Life”, not “fighting”, as a wonderful Recovery book, called Hope and Recovery, once said.

Of course, we can’t be perfectly centered and at peace all the time, but somehow, I sense we are meant to be living less on a “hamster wheel” of emotional and mental ups and downs, and feeling disconnected from ourselves and God.

Align with Love is about getting off that hamster wheel, and being on a Path. It’s a peaceful path. Yes, it can bend abruptly, but we don’t have to be thrown off by that. We can have deep trust in the unfolding of the Universe, and the Presence of God in the midst of it all. We can transcend all these momentary “happenings”, and be more fully our True Selves. Yes, we can.

Align with Love is not some set of “perfect” things to do that will “fix” you and your life. But would it not be nice to go through something without feeling guilty how you handled it? Would it be nice to go through a situation without having to apologize like every dang time for overeacting and saying something unhelpful? I’ve lived the mess-ups, and the “churning” inside that I did that again. I said that, again. I yelled “God-d** it”, again. Whether it was a temper blow up, lust, procrastination, or fantasizing all the nasty things I would love to say to so-and-so, and then feeling horrible I even wanted to, I want to live differently.

Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John’s Gospel, 10:10, Christian Scriptures.

I want that life. I think you want that life too, whether you carry the label “Christian”, or not. But I think Jesus has a very different idea of what a “full life” is. We think of it as the house, car, good job, great partner, lot’s of material stuff, and enough money to live “comfortable”. (I’m writing as a white, middle-aged, suburban American male.) This is a “full” Western Civilization life, and it is not all bad to want it or have it. But if I chase that, am I no different than the “Rich Young Ruler”, who Jesus asked to sell everything and follow Him? (Mark 10:17-22)

Ok, I will not advocate you sell all your stuff, necessarily. But what do we need to let go of? What Ego, Expectations and Narratives are really running our lives? (Go see my writings on The Unholy Trinity.)

Part of the meaning of the word “religion” is to bind up. Many of us are bound up, but bound up to rules God never intended. Or, we are chasing more and more Bible knowledge thinking extra insights into the Greek will make us more moral. It doesn’t. I am NOT knocking Bible studies, dear readers! But if all the study doesn’t make us more loving, more kind, and more like Jesus, we are just chasing religious knowledge.

The quest for knowledge was how sin started in the Garden in Genesis!

I think God wants us first to know Him. To know her, to know them. (I use that language intentionally, as God transcends our gender ideas, and goes beyond them. I am not saying I am against genders, or am ignoring their wonderful differences.)

Yes, I know some will say: “Well, we get to know God from the Bible…” to some degree this is true, but when we see those same Scriptures, we see God interacting directly with people and showing them Himself. God calls Abraham to walk with Him. He appears in a burning bush to Moses. He invites men and women to know Him, not just stuff about Him.

Aligning with Love is to step into that knowing, and then to flow with it.

It is to invite mystically a “sense” of God, of God’s presence,

into our hearts and circumstances, and to be “in” it.

Then the “rules” take care of themselves. It’s not us “doing it”, and striving, it’s God and us doing it together. Then the hamster wheel stops. No, you’re not perfect, but you are someone else, something else. You are slowly becoming a more mature, son or daughter of God. This is not just so you can “feel good” or feel peaceful.

That “Full Life” you are supposed to live,

is so that you can be what I call a Loving Presence in the world.

This is to be God’s Representative to the world, which the Apostle Paul called being an “Ambassador for Christ”. (2nd Cor. 5:20 in the New Testament) If that does not appeal to you–watch the news for 5 minutes.

We NEED people to be more Loving Presences everywhere. Everywhere.

As I said, I am not someone special, and I understand wanting to follow and subscribe to the pastors, psychologists, doctors, etc, on the Web. But I am struck by a wonderful passage from the Biblical book of Acts, following Jesus’s Ascension:

“When they (the Jewish Authorities) saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Book of Acts 4:13, Christian Scriptures)

I am “unschooled”, and “ordinary”, but I believe I have been with Jesus. You’ll have to decide if what I say speaks to you or not, and if you want to join me in the journey of being more Aligned with Love.

Whatever you do, I pray your heart will be more united with God’s, more Aligned with His, and that you will find your place in the “One Flow” of His Spirit.

I’ll be “here”. I am going to keep writing, teaching, and sharing my failings. Whether I have lots of followers, or no one cares, I will keep doing my best at “teaching His people Love”. I believe I was sent here to do this.

Be open. Be light. Seek to know God, not just info about Him/Her, but to know Them. Let God be “in” you, so you can manifest God to the world. That is what the “full” life really looks like, I believe.

More to write on that-thanks for your time.

Other posts explaining more of this:

Transitions
What’s it all about?

-Eric, the Wordsmith

Like what you read? Let me know-I appreciate your feedback.

BP60 (Yes 60th post on WordPress!)

Have thoughts or comments? You can click on the comment link, or you can email me at the address provided. Have ideas you want me to write about, or questions? Want to tell me how much you enjoy (or don’t enjoy) my content? All are acceptable, but be nice, please. Thanks! alignwithlove85@gmail.com.

How I Practice with the Approaches

(And their Obstacles)

(Reprints)

(Writer’s Note: I started my Blog on WordPress in February of 2026. Now, as I have started also posting on Substack, let me take this opportunity to reintroduce myself to people who really don’t know who I am, or what I am about. So, here is another of my “Reprints”, essays/articles I wrote, but you may have missed! Think of this as reruns of a beloved TV show that you never got a chance to watch the first time. Enjoy, and get inspired.)

From March 31, 2026:

Hello, again. Happy to be back writing to you all!

First off, I want to make it clear in laying out these Approaches to Life (and their Obstacles), I do NOT do them perfectly. I don’t practice these ideas well all the time. I fail often. While I have laid out these concepts very neatly, the reality is not so neat, as life is not that neat! I have laid them out as I did so we could focus on them individually, like Openness and Lightness.

I do practice with these Approaches, and I keep practicing. I am better with these things than I used to be. God has at times moved mountains. Other times, He gave me a shovel. There were times He sent a pastor, a book, or a podcast, telling me to listen and read. He sent birds, or wind and waves, and literal floods sometimes. He/She aligned readings and circumstances quite inexplicably. I journaled, fussed, cursed sometimes, and even had total melt-downs–ask my wife and neighbors.

I’m still here. I got back up. God took my missteps and kept leading me back to the Path, often going a long way with me to Emmaus and far beyond. (Luke 24, Christian Scriptures). That Divine Love truly kept bringing me back from darkness and confusion. I don’t have all the answers, even if I write like I do sometimes. I write confidently on some of these things as my life has born them out, often painfully, but my soul has learned them, somewhat. I share with you, Dear Reader, what I have learned. I heard words like these in my quiet times, I hope you hear them too:

“Stay on the Path, my Son. Stay on the Path, my Daughter.”

So what do I do? How do I stay on this Spiritual Path? How do I do this stuff? What does it look like in Eric’s Life?

  1. How do I practice with Openness?

I ask God to help me. I literally pray: “Open me, Oh Lord.” ,”Or grant me Openness.” I try to relax my body, and I literally open my arms, like Pastor Bill Hunter from my first post on Openness. I attempt to see where others are coming from. I try to hear what others are saying, and what their body language is saying. Are they upbeat or downcast? Are they “locked in”, or wanting to talk? I try to be open to what I perceive is the Flow of God’s Spirit in the world. What does the Universe seem to be telling me? Is something just “not working”, and I need to abandon my efforts? Maybe the timing is off for a task or conversation. Maybe the timing is perfect, and I need to get to it. I try to be a cooperative presence rather than wrestling with everything and everyone. You’ve met people like this, or you are one, at least some of the time.

I also spend time with Spiritual Readings, in my case, the Bible. For a number of years, I routinely did the ancient practice of praying the “Daily Office” from the Book of Common Prayer. I still believe in the Fixed Hours of Prayer, as Christians call it: Prayer at rising, prayer at Noon, and prayer in the Evening. I also read books/devotionals by others: Richard Rohr, Brian Zahnd, and St. Benedict, just to name a few. I listen to podcasts, such as “Everything Belongs” , or “Turning to the Mystics”from the CAC. (See my Helpful Links Page). I also listen to other items from my Helpful Links page, such as Leo Babauta, or Kimberly Quinlan, so I keep hearing other perspectives. I look at my own mental issues, and how I can be creative with my gifts. I want to keep becoming a more Open presence in the World. I want to keep growing.

2. How do I practice with Lightness?

I ask God to help with this too. “Grant me lightness, Oh Lord.” Again, I try to notice tension in my body. This one is hard for me. I take myself way too seriously. I hold too tightly to how I want the world to go. I am far more “heavy” with life than I would like! I find I need to remind myself often of both Openness and Lightness. I do want to emphasize this: Neither of these is something you should work too hard at. It is much more something you relax and receive, rather than a “I will now be open and light!” demand of yourself. More to come on that. Promise.

3. How do I practice with Alignment?

I ask God often to Align me, and re-align me. I ask Him to Align me to His Love-Flow in this world. It is there–sometimes hidden, but it IS there. Sometimes, I am the one that has to manifest it. One of the images I have presently is of falling into a current under the water and being carried by it. So often in my interactions there is the “noise” of my own thoughts and feelings, but then there is a Sense, of Someone else, of Something else. With that Sense, there is a notion of what to do or say. This is where I mention Alignment being a choice. I have to choose to Align with that Inner Sense. It takes time to even cultivate the ability to be aware of it. As James Finley says, I “must calibrate my heart to a finer scale”. Prayer time and reading Scripture, or other Spiritual literature, is one way to start recalibrating your heart, as I already wrote above. Sitting quietly by yourself, and just listening is another.

4. How do I practice with my Ego?

How should I not practice with my ego? This is a daily “dying to self” as we Christians say. I watch myself, not to scold myself, but to observe. As I wrote in a prior post, my basement got flooded, and my finished den has to be repaired, new flooring laid, etc. I then had to put back all the furniture, clean it, rewire all my TV tech, and the like. I wanted it done, and I wanted it done how I wanted it. I got crabby real quick when the TV died upon being set back up. I was annoyed when the cleaning was tedious and time consuming. I was angry I had to do all this work at all! At it’s heart–was my ego! I wanted the den put back. I wanted my hang out place back, I wanted to show off to guests, and I just wanted it done. Putting back together a destroyed room takes time. No one really would care if it was done, but I acted like it was a big deal if it was. So, I had to keep “offering” it up, as in letting it go. The den is all back together, with only my workshop to cleanup-finally.

5. How do I practice with my Expectations?

The same as my ego. I have to loosen my grip on what I anticipate will happen. I just today wrote in my journal the phrase: Be intentional without being intense. In other words, I can have a plan for a given situation, but it may not go the way I want. I do not need to be short, snippy, or mean, because someone did not do what I want, when I want, or how I want. If I believe in this Loving Universe, then I must also accept that things not always working out as I would like is God’s will, and it may even be better than my plan! I need to be OK with how things turn out. More dying to self!

6. How do I practice with Myths?

These can be harder to see in the moment. Sometimes I need to do some reflection via journaling to dig into what narrative I am operating under. To use my den story again, my Myth is that my house should always be picked up and in order. This is ridiculous, unrealistic, and stress-inducing. I was never threatened with a beating if my room was not picked up as a kid, so I am not sure why I believe this. My family did value order and cleanliness, so I must have internalized this, but I do have an attachment to this ideal that is beyond just a preference. If I am overly engrossed in putting my den back together, being cranky when it is not going the way I want, and being unkind to other family members, this is unhealthy. I am doing the Ego-Expectations-Myths Dance. I keep stepping on other’s toes! Ouch.

A Practice I do for all of them:

This is something I call the “Clock Practice”. If you recall an Analog clock with the hands and face of said clock, I try to recall at the “top” of the hour, (XX:00) to literally look up. I pray: “I thank you, I trust you, I praise you, Lord,” borrowing from Sarah Young’s wonderful devotional: Jesus Calling. I truly believe in the power of “Mantra Prayers” or mini prayers, to recenter and refocus our minds and hearts. At the Quarter hour, (XX:15 or XX:45), I try to pray: “May I recognize you Lord, and respond to you.” This is my way of seeing Jesus, or whoever you view as God, as being present in the situations I am in or manifesting in the people I am with. Obviously, the image of God may be absent, or seriously marred in another’s life. But it is there, as I believe we are all Children of God.

At the “bottom” of the hour, (XX:30), I try to look at me, and look over my ego, expectations and myths. I do this briefly, as I may not always be able to do introspection at that moment. But I can notice if I am tense, or angry, or worried about whatever. I have some prayers I use, but I am going to actually break that out as a separate posting, as I want to go into it in more depth.

I do not do this Practice well! I forget often, and I want to say again this is not a Practice, that if you fail at it, you should beat yourself up for it! The Apostle Paul in the Christian Scriptures says to “pray without ceasing”, (1st Thess 5:17), and this is another way to try that.

I say that this Clock Practice is a way to:

Look up. Look out. Look down.

Look up (to God/Spirit). Look out (to Others), and how God is manifesting in others. Look down (inside) to see how you are doing and feeling. Look how God might be coming to you in your own thoughts and feelings. Not every thought and feeling is from the “Devil”. When I even make some effort at this, my day is so much better. I am not feeling churned up and unsettled. I am more peaceful, and attentive to what others are thinking and feeling, and I can be more present to them. This Aligns me more with Love, and I believe it will do the same for you!

These are some of my thoughts. I fail at all of them many times, and try not to be too hard on myself. I spent many years oblivious to all of this, and only began to awaken as life kept hitting me over the head, and God kept saying lovingly: “Please stop the way you are living, Eric.”

I hope you found this helpful, and it brought some clarity on how to live (and love) with these Approaches and their Obstacles. This is my way of imagining it, and how I do it. It is NOT the only way, best way, or perfect way. You may find some of these ideas helpful, some not, or have very different ones. I’d love to hear about them! Let’s all grow in grace, love, and maturity. Let’s be truly renewed humans, partnering with God, as we live our lives here on Planet Earth.

Be Open. Be Light. Practice Alignment.

-Eric, The Wordsmith

Like what you read? Let me know-I appreciate your feedback.

BP59-R17

Have thoughts or comments? You can click on the comment link, or you can email me at the address provided. Have ideas you want me to write about, or questions? Want to tell me how much you enjoy (or don’t enjoy) my content? All are acceptable, but be nice, please. Thanks! alignwithlove85@gmail.com.

The “Unholy” Trinity-Part 3

(Reprints)

(Writer’s Note: I started my Blog on WordPress in February of 2026. Now, as I have started also posting on Substack, let me take this opportunity to reintroduce myself to people who really don’t know who I am, or what I am about. So, here is another of my “Reprints”, essays/articles I wrote, but you may have missed! Think of this as reruns of a beloved TV show that you never got a chance to watch the first time. Enjoy, and get inspired.)

From March 24,2026:

Part Three: Myths.

I started this Series writing about the Obstacles to these Approaches to Life I previously posted about. (Go to the Archives Page, and the links are all there. https://align-with-love.com/archive/) These are my thoughts, and I do not pretend this is the only way to look at life, but I sense deeply these are true and helpful. I believe this “Unholy” Trinity of Ego, Expectations, and Myths trip us up in life. They prevent us from being Open, Light and Aligned in the Universe.

We get “stuck” in these, and we cause ourselves so much turmoil. Each element is not “bad”, but can bring heartache if we are unaware of them, and don’t do some work to look at them. I am not a therapist, pastor, priest, or anything remotely “clinical”, so these are my thoughts. These writings should not replace those who are better trained to help you work through whatever issues you may face. But these ideas can certainly help with “framing” situations, and bring you clarity as to how you are reacting to whatever you find yourself dealing with.

As I said in my Ego post, “Aligning with Love is to be a more loving Presence in the world. “ Your Ego, Expectations, and Myths can prevent you from being that. I defined Ego as your wants and preferences in any given situation. I pointed out how our egos can want very mundane things, like a food choice, or deadly serious things, like not wanting to get shot. I went on to make the point that we must be attentive to the world around us, caring for the poor and less fortunate, if we have means. We must get out of our own malformed egos!

In Part 2, Expectations, I wrote about how expectations are our anticipations in any given situation, and our beliefs that something will happen. I noted this is not reality, even if the expectations are very realistic.

Our expectations are our egos forecasting the future.

I wrote that my default is to get angry when my expectations are not met. I do not let my Ego and Expectations be Aligned with Love. We will have trouble in Life, as Jesus told us we would, and we should not be surprised when things go awry. Expectations block our openness and lightness with the universe, if we hold to them too tightly. I finished with imploring us to expect that the Universe is ultimately good, that Love fills it, and that Aligning with that Love is a better way.

On to Part 3: Myths. I originally used to use the term “False Beliefs” for Myths, but I realized we would get lost in what made a belief “false”, so I have updated the term to Myths, and I would also like to add the word Narratives.

What is a myth? One definition is “a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the worldview of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon.” Or, “an unfounded or false notion“. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myth We know of the Greek myths, we know of Creation myths, and even if we believe in them, we know there is an element to them that is telling a story. The myth is narrating for us how we got here, or why the world is the way it is. I would like to submit, though, that you might have myths operating in your own life, right now!

It shows up in how we talk to ourselves. I’m not pretty. I’m not smart. This never works out. It flows right back into our expectations. This won’t work out. I will have to pay more in taxes (again). I will stay single, or my spouse will never change! We have told ourselves, even if we are people of faith, a different Narrative. We say we believe in God, or the teachings of Christ. We say we have a spiritual set of beliefs or practices, but in the real moments of our day-to-day lives, we live according to a Myth: a Myth we were told, and believed.

Someone else Narrated our lives for us, and we Aligned with that.

We may have been too young to know any better! I will not start blasting well intentioned parents and leadership figures, who may have transmitted very messed up messages to us as children or young adults. I also will not belittle the trauma and hurts we may have endured, both emotional and physical, by such figures. Our parents may have been very broken people, who were woefully unprepared to “shepherd our hearts”. Being a parent myself now, I see how easy it is to “blow it” in the little moments of life. I already wrote about my tendency to overreact to things–and I see my son do the same. I narrated for him a Myth: “When life doesn’t go as planned, and it always does-let’s freak out.” I did not model calm handling of Flow-Shift in the Universe to him. I can change, though, and so can he.

I had a Myth inside a Myth in that sentence: “When life doesn’t go as planned,” ( as I planned)–see it? I, Eric, had a plan. What I wanted, and what I wanted to happen. (Ego and Expectations).

One of my Myths is that the Universe should always go the way I want–and why shouldn’t it??

No wonder I am getting so upset. The Universe is not matching up to my beliefs, and my narratives at all! It’s not fair! We all do this–we don’t say it like this, but I think this is some of what is happening in our minds and hearts. We hear and experience things as children that we just “build on” as we grow up. We never realize that the foundation, the Myths and Narratives, may have been faulty from the start! Then we are adults, married with kids, working wherever, and things feel “off”. We’re not “happy”, or we are stuck in dysfunctional patterns. We don’t know why, and we don’t know what to do. There is a metaphorical song playing, over and over, and we can’t get it out of our heads, a song we can’t stop “dancing” to.

In Christianity, there is the notion of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in a delightful “Dance” that is quite beautiful, and hard to comprehend, and I will surely get into it at some point. But our Egos, Expectations, and Myths are also dancing in our minds and hearts, an “Unholy” Trinity, as I put it. You and I are often dancing along, and we didn’t even “pick the record”, or digital file!

What do we do? Recognize it. Stop. Breathe. Slow down. Start asking yourself: Who told me this? Did your parents tell you that you were “no good”? Were you condemned to “hell” if you didn’t do this or that? I recall my Dad telling a young 20ish me, before he died, that “You’ll never make any money at that job…,” discouraging me from working in banking. I felt “less than”. I felt I had not lived up to his myths, and expectations: I should be making “more” money. I should have a more “prestigious” job that made him look good, and that made our family look good. To who exactly did we need to look good to? And who cares?

Years later, as my Dad’s life took a very different turn due to his own failure to Align with Love well, I found out I was making some three times what he made in his own line of work! This is not to say I was rich, (I am not), or he was poor, or I was “better” than him. But he gave me his myth, and his narrative. He meant well–and wanted me to be “successful”. But I’ve been in banking for 28 years, have done well, and am liked and respected by my peers. (I hope.) I am successful. I am “doing well”, as America defines it. I am married, have a son, have a house, and now, I am an honest-to-goodness writer. It’s for another blog post the tales of my Dad, some bad, some good, and the profound way he ministered to me after he died. I believe my Dad is now in a much Better Narrative, a deeply True One.

To start concluding: Myths and Narratives are those “deep stories” we were told in our youth. We believed them, but they may not have ever been true. I am not trying to say “religious myths” are all bad, and I intend no offense using that term. But when we coerce people to engage in religious practices to appease God, so he does not smite us, or refuse to love us, that is misusing those myths. It’s what Richard Rohr calls “Primitive Religion”. It’s based on fear and punishment, not love and attraction to a Higher Calling.

I attended a charismatic, pentecostal junior high school, and I recall once a teacher there insisting “God was mad at us”, as we did not raise our hands in the weekly worship service. Good grief! I was 13, and more concerned about looking “cool” than worshipping God. My Reformed Church background did not worship like that, so I was not comfortable with it. Grown-up now, I see that many of the teachers in that school had “conversion experiences”, and had come from a non-Christian background, who were now on “fire for Jesus”. They wanted us to not make the mistakes they made-but telling me God was “mad” at me was not the way to do it! I turned away from God, partly due to moments like that, for a season. I wanted very much to be “good” at whatever authority figure was telling me that God expected, but I couldn’t do it, so I just unplugged from the whole faith for a few years. (No disrespect to those folks-they truly meant well.)

It took years to realize God loved me no matter what I was doing or not doing! I do “raise my hands” now in worship, but not to make God “happy”, but because I want to; I want to say thank you for all I believe He did (and does) in my life!

From myths like those, expectations flow, and our egos too. We think God will bless us, if we raise our hands, or tithe, or attend every church service, on and on. But when the child gets deathly ill, or the marriage implodes, we get angry as we “followed the commandments”. We forgot Jesus refreshed and simplified those 10 Commandments:

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NIV)

There is no promise all will be well by doing this! But if we do this, Life is better. It may not feel like it all the time, but I believe it is. It’s better in your heart. It’s better for your heart. Aligning with Love is the way. We may want to argue, but it doesn’t seem like hate, and all the myths, expectations, and ego that feed it, are working all that well in the world! (Be honest.)

I will get to how to work with this “Unholy” Trinity more, as I believe there are some practical things we can do and be that will help. Suffice it to say for now: watch yourself. Not watch yourself to see how you “mess up”, but just observe. What are the myths here? What’s the myths being repeated in the Media? What narratives are being told, good or bad? What expectations flow from those myths, personally or for the world? Where is my ego creating unhealthy expectations? You’ll know that one by how you act: are you sarcastic, cranky, nasty, and the like when it’s not going your way? Now look deeper: Who told you who you were? Who told you how to act or not act? I’m not saying to go out and do anything “bad” or mean–just notice it.

See how you can bring Openness, Lightness, and Alignment to your life happenings and interactions.

Our unreviewed Myths, Expectations, and Egos will cause us trouble

if we do not start to shift our Approaches!

Next week, I will be writing about how I practice with all of this. I intend after each “Series” to show how I work with these, or how I mess up with them. I didn’t get the idea until the end of this second series, but I want to try to make all these “Align with Love” ideas practical, and also show where I have to grow too.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for taking time to wade through all of this. I know it gets long and involved-but I believe your efforts to play along will help you, and everybody else.

Be Open. Be Light. Watch yourself.

Like what you read? Let me know-I appreciate your feedback.

-Eric, the Wordsmith

PB58-R16

Have thoughts or comments? You can click on the comment link, or you can email me at the address provided. Have ideas you want me to write about, or questions? Want to tell me how much you enjoy (or don’t enjoy) my content? All are acceptable, but be nice, please. Thanks! alignwithlove85@gmail.com.

Align With Love

How to be a more Loving Presence in the world.

Skip to content ↓