“Being Grateful” - by Hans Christian King
Spiritual Radio Show transcription
GUIDANCE FOR YOUR LIFE Radio Show
with Hans Christian King www.HansKing.com
and Alfred Ricci www.AlfredRicci.com
Topic: Being Grateful
March 1, 2014
Alfred:
Hello everyone and welcome to GUIDANCE FOR YOUR LIFE. Yes, this is another episode of spiritual teachings being brought to you by myself, Alfred, the Padawan to the Modern Day Mystic himself, Hans Christian King, who is on the line with us.
Hans:
Good morning everyone.
Alfred:
And we are broadcasting from Playa del Carmen, Mexico. As many of you know, over the last month and a half, we have spent some time relocating from the record low temperatures of Asheville, North Carolina. Which itself is a wonderful place, except they're having record lows, and Hans and I are much more partial to nice, warm weather. Which brings us up to our second point - if you haven't already, sign up for our Newsletter. We're getting back in the swing of things with not only Radio Shows, but also we're also going to be sending out the Newsletter next Monday. Go to HansKing.com and sign up for our Newsletter, if you haven't already. Because we're going to be talking about Playa del Carmen and Private Intensive Trainings. If you'd like to get some spiritual training in Paradise, then consider coming down and seeing us in Playa del Carmen. Just an option. We try to present as many different options to reach out with Hans King's teachings as we can. There's the Radio Show, there's the Newsletter, there's our Daily Postings to Facebook and Twitter. We have a lot of Free stuff, as a lot of you know, on HansKing.com - that you can listen to for free, or you can become a Spiritual Circle Member that we'll get into later. But that's about it for our Announcements. We're just getting back into the swing of things now that we've sort of connected down here in Mexico. Things just happen on Mexican Time down here. To further explain about the Spiritual Topic for today, I present to you the Modern Day Mystic himself, Hans Christian King.
Hans:
Good day everyone. It is so very nice to be with you today. It is a beautiful, sunny day here. I know that I'm getting many emails from some of you who are worried about the next blast of snow that is coming, and my heart goes out to you. I had a lovely email from a dear friend of mine, a very dear friend of mine, in Colorado and she said they were getting ready to try and go skiing. They've had lots of snow there too. So it's nice to be someplace where it isn't snowing. I don't do well walking in snow anymore; let's put it that way. Today's Topic is one that we have sort of gone over a couple of times Alfred, I think. But I've been getting a lot of emails lately from people who say that they are devastated by this event, or devastated by that event, or lost expectations. And just so many people seem to be so...I want to say "unhappy" right now. Things aren't going the way they had hoped...not meeting their expectations anyway. And I want everyone to "stop". Just stop for a moment, and sit down, and take a very deep breath and say these words: "I'm so grateful to just be me". Now a lot of you are going to say: "Well, there he goes again". But I'm telling you that's what Spirit wanted to talk about today - "I'm so grateful just being me". There's a magic in that. Because when you are grateful to just be "who you are in that moment”, you're saying to Spirit: "I'm enough, I'm not lacking, You are my Source, You are my abundance, I sit in that abundance”. Yes, there are times that my humanness gets in my way. Alfred, you can remember the humanness used to get in your way can't you?
Alfred:
It still does.
Hans:
Yes.
Alfred:
And that's one of the things I try to tell my students is: "It doesn't matter how advanced you think you are spiritually, or not advanced...everyone while in human form gets influenced by humanness".
Hans:
Yes. Good way of putting it Alfred. Alfred is a Gemini. Another dear friend of mine, Curtis, is a Gemini. So many people are Gemini’s which means there's two people operating within one. And sometimes, with all the best of intentions...my friend Melinda calls it "the evil twin"... Sometimes for Gemini’s and sometimes for everybody, there is a letting of the guard down a little bit, and forgetting that the mind chatter isn't real, that what it's saying is not true. We are all where we are supposed to be. Now, are we all learning the lesson of "being where we're supposed to be"? You see?? I once met a man in Mexico, many years ago and I was sitting at the beach, and I don't think I've told anyone this story before, and he came by and we got to chatting and said: "Oh, you're that guy. I've heard of you". He said: "You've been on George Noory's Show and you've been on CBS and I saw that thing you did for PBS in Miami". And I said: "Yes, that's me". He said: "You know Hans, you were talking about how people become what they do. People don't see themselves". And he said: "I got to thinking. I was in a very, very difficult relationship that didn't work anymore". And he said: "I had lost myself at the office. I had lost myself into my job". He said: "I had lost myself into my continual expectations of how things are supposed to be". This was about 8 or 9 years ago. He said: "When I was a little boy, my mother and father took me to Mexico". And he said: "I felt, the minute I arrived there, it was like going home. It was like old home week for me". And he said...I said to myself: “Well, someday I'm going to have a business in Mexico". Well he never thought much about it after that because he got into the expectations of the parents, the expectations of the education, the expectations of society. And at the age of 61, he was lost. Completely and absolutely lost. Unfortunately, his relationship didn't work. At 60, they said he was too old to continue in his job, even though his job performance was excellent. And they gave a very, very good severance...a very, very good severance package because he was fairly high up. And he said: "I woke up one morning and I heard myself say to myself, "Oh, my God I'm free. I'm finally free". So he had bought his wife out of the house, as per her request. The kids were out of college. And a dear friend of his said: "So what are you going to do now"? And he said: "I'm just going to learn to be me". "Oh, well where are you going"? He said: "I'm just going to go down to Mexico and sit by a pool, have a Margarita and think nothing...nothing". He said, for one year he sat and thought nothing. Of course he went out and went to lunch and dinner and all that... But I'm saying Alfred, what he did was to take the teachings that I had given from Spirit and put them into a language that he could learn to hear with. That whenever a problem in his old life would recur, in other words his mind would say: "Well this could be wrong or that could be wrong"... He learned how to talk it away. He'd say: "No, that's not true. No, you're not welcome here". And by golly, he opened a little something. I think it was an import/export business with some Native American Indians and he found some shops in California and he created this wonderful life for himself. First, by himself. Learning to be grateful for himself...to him. And I think folks, later there was a relationship and as far as I know he's still alive...but folks, this is what I'm talking about with this little story - is we get caught up in the minutia of who we're expected to be...what society dictates...what appears as "correct" and what is supposed to be "wrong"... Just stopping for a moment. All of you dear people who listen to this Show. There's so many of you. If you could stop for a moment and see yourself in Spirit's eyes. These little baby angels putting on these adult clothes, pretending that they've got the answer, pretending they know how to do things when they don't... There is children nothing I know that you can't do if you set your intention. I shouldn't be alive today. Absolutely against every doctor back in the day who told me I'd be long gone before 40...long gone before 50...long gone before 60...long gone before 70. And I'm still here. Because I know who I am. I see who I am and I know what I have to do. And despite all the challenges that have come in my life, and children there have been many, the one thing I never lost was the direction of who I am and what I do. Now Alfred, you are certainly becoming the person that you and Spirit agreed to. Can you share with our friends what happens to you when sometimes you're going down your path and everything seems to be alright, and then BOOM it sort of explodes in your face?
Alfred:
I've been thinking about this lately because there's a lot of times that we're grateful when we recognize the miracle. When a miracle happens, oh, we're so grateful. But then when it just happens on a regular basis, when you get into the flow of things, when you're living your life, I, in particular, forget to be grateful for everyday miracles. For the miracles that you are living, the miracles that have already shown up, the miracles that the Other Side has provided that we're living. The humanness in us almost takes it for granted that the things that we have are already there. And the humanness in us says: Well, why don't I have this and why don't I have that? And that is very difficult. I tell this to so many of my students. I say: "Can you be grateful if your glass is 10% full? Can you be?" And immediately they say: "Well no, because my brain says my glass is 90% empty".
Hans:
There you are.
Alfred:
But the easier lesson is: "Is my glass 1/2 full "or" my glass 1/2 empty"? Well, of course I'm glad that my glass is 1/2 full. But there really is no difference except your humanness going crazy when it says: "Well, my humanness perceives my glass is 1/2 empty thus I am ungrateful..."
Hans:
In other words, why isn't it full?
Alfred:
Yes. And yelling at the Other Side: "Why is my life like this"? And they get a little perturbed. The way I always like to describe this is if you have a child that you try to take care of and the little child goes to the parents and says: "Why don't I have this and why don't I have that"? They call the kid: "spoiled".
Hans:
Yes.
Alfred:
And what do they do? They give the kid "less" to try to break them out of being spoiled. Okay? And that is very, very, very difficult to see. Whether you're that little spoiled kid or whether we're in our humanness wondering why don't we have more and why is what I had going away from me? Our humanness tends to say: There's a problem. Instead of the simple answer of being grateful for being alive...for what you have...for where you are...for the miracles that have already happened.
Hans:
You know Alfred, that's beautifully put. We tend, as spirit in human form, to forget the daily miracles...to forget: Oh, there is food on the table for breakfast...Oh, the lights are on...Oh, I am healthy. We forget that those things are very rare for billions and billions of people on our planet. Yesterday we had some kind of rolling blackouts here in Quintana Roo, the state. And it was the first time I noticed Alfred didn't care. He didn't mind. He actually said: "Oh, time to take a break then". Where before he would be very upset. "I'm in the middle of something...Oh darn".
Alfred:
Yes.
Hans:
It wasn't an issue. And I think when we start to complain about this isn't showing up in my life, that isn't showing up in my life... I'll give you an example. A wise Buddhist Monk once said to me many years ago in Maui...he was visiting my friend Alexandra and we were talking about something...He said...and there was a lady there who said that a relationship hadn't shown up in her life and he looked at her and he said: "It's of no importance. Who cares?" And he sounded like he was confronting her, but he was teaching her. She said: "Well, what do you mean"? He said: "It is of no importance whether you have a partner. The partner you need is looking at me. The other is an addendum to the greatest partner you will ever have". And he said: "And when you decide that you are your best partner, another person will come into your life". It's our perceptions... Alfred, have you noticed now that you're working with more and more people...by the way, Congratulations, been getting lovely emails on your work...people have a perception that when things aren't appearing in their mind chatter's expectation that there's actually something wrong. Have you noticed that?
Alfred:
Well, I'll admit it...I'll be the first to admit that that is part of being human. That there's a perception of "lack", there's a perception of "there should be more" and it is so difficult to remember the simple lessons that we were going through last year of "surrendering", of "letting go of expectations", of "letting go of perceptions". Because we have so many years of practice of having perceptions, of having opinions, of having judgments, that is just seems natural. And it's only through the internal spiritual practice of - hate to say it - the basics, as we decided to go back to for this lesson...
Hans:
We were in a taxi and we were talking on the way back from downtown about what we would talk about today.
Alfred:
And it is the basics of "letting go of expectations", "letting go of what your mind thinks there should be", and "being grateful for what you have". Because, I will admit it, I will be the first to admit it, if you don't, you will get knocked right off your spiritual perch.
Hans:
Yes, you will. (laughing)
Alfred:
And that's about the nicest way I can say it.
Hans:
And he speaks, my friends, from experience. This is what Spirit has said to him what will make him a great teacher is...every once in awhile Alfred, you just get knocked down don't you?
Alfred:
Yes and it's nothing more than your own mind. And if you're wondering why you're not feeling good, if you're wondering why you're depressed, if you're wondering why you're angry, I would say 80-90% of the time "it's your mind" that has a perception that "something is wrong" and you're not being grateful for what you have. You're thinking your glass is half empty...
Hans:
Or I used to have this, or I used to have that...
Alfred:
It's dragging you to your humanness and completely taking you off your spiritual path and causing you to be miserable and stressed. Honestly, for me, my personal experience is 80-90% of the time that's what happens. And then luckily, Hans gets to come rescue my beans and that's what we try to pass on to all of you.
Hans:
And that's what you're doing now Alfred.
Alfred:
Yes.
Hans:
Remember when I first met you, when I was first teaching you, I said: "Always remember what Spirit says - We teach what we need to learn".
Alfred:
Yes and I get the joy of learning it and passing it on to everyone.
Hans:
But guess who you get to be when you get that done. I mean...
Alfred:
A dog..
Hans:
There you are - "Bella".
Alfred:
Yes.
Hans:
Bella's quite the celebrity folks, I have to tell you. She went down, you may not know what 5th Avenue is, but if you look up 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen, you'll see it's a pretty magnificent walkway, like 3rd Avenue in Santa Monica. And you can go and sit on benches and Alfred took her down and I don't know how many people told her how beautiful she was but her head is so big she couldn't get in the door. So, being grateful...being grateful for the little things. For instance, being grateful that your little pet greets you in the morning. If you're not living with someone right now, if you're not in a relationship right now, being grateful to perhaps your kitty or your little dog or your parrot or whatever you have, greets you with unconditional love - Be Grateful. Be grateful that you wake up every morning with the opportunity to make a choice to be "happy", or to be "sad". You have a choice. Be grateful every day that you can get out of the house. Even if it's cold or blistery. You want to know what real love is? Real love is watching Alfred at minus 10 degrees and taking Bella outside to “pooey”. That's real love. Because his face crunches up to about the size of a walnut. He made a choice to love her more than himself at that moment to help her out. Be grateful that we have choices. Be grateful... Let's say someone feels they don't have anybody right now. Go on your computer. Find a set of pictures. Alfred, found...what was that you found on Netflix for me the other night about flowers?
Alfred:
Oh, a movie about flowers...
Hans:
Unbelievable...
Alfred:
The movie started up by saying: "If you see the miracle in a single flower, your life will be changed".
Hans:
It's the truth.
Alfred:
Buddha.
Hans:
And what you don't realize Alfred is you started teaching that...
Alfred:
Years ago...
Hans:
Years ago...before you knew it was Buddha that had said it.
Alfred:
No, I used to drag people outside...Why are you taking me outside?...Look at the flower.... I don't want to look at the flower... Look at the flower... Why?
Hans:
I'm reminded of the...and I know some of you who have been with me a long time know this story... But one day Buddha's having a sanzen and all of his disciples were there. And the Buddha reaches over and he picks off the ground a dandelion flower...a little yellow dandelion flower...and he looks at it...and he looks at it...and he continues to look at it...and he continues to look at it some more. Pretty soon an hour goes by, two hours go by and the Buddha is still looking and fixated on the flower. Finally, one of the devotees in the front row said to him: "Gautama, we fail to understand the lesson in this. And Buddha looked at him and said: "Oh child, that it is is sufficient. It needs no explanation. It simply is". You need no explanation. You simply are, folks. There has never been another you. There will never be another you. You are whole. You are complete. Just who you are is enough for God. It is the expectations of the mind chatter that continuously wants to tell you what you "don't have". Every single day when I wake up, I go to a window and look outside...see trees or flowers or even if it's snowing, which I love to look at...and I will say: "Thank you so much for this day. Thank you for letting me be here. Thank you for letting me see this day. This day is enough for me". And at night, before I go to bed, I always say: "Thank you for what you taught me today". Someone once said to me: "The older you get, the wiser you become". I didn't understand that really. I thought they meant "smarter". No, no, no. "Wiser". Years ago I had a battle with Alfred in that the difference between being "smarter" and "wiser". Now Alfred is much smarter than I am...much smarter than I am. He's got degrees and all that. I looked at him and said: "Yes, but I'm wiser than you are". And he argued with that. But Alfred, do you see now that you're wiser now than you were 8 or 9 years ago?
Alfred:
It's really what is important to you and how you approach life. If you're approach to live is a spiritual approach - being peaceful - being happy - being kind - is more important than anything else, then what you'll value is "peace", "generosity". And it is through that spiritual wisdom that you become wiser. It is to letting of perception and opinion and being grateful and doing the basics. That those things override your human tendencies that you become "wiser" and "less human" if that's what you value. And hopefully if you're listening to the Show, that is what you value.
Hans:
By golly!
(Alfred and Hans Laughing)
Alfred:
It would be kind of hard to do human things and listen to this Show.
Hans:
But I think we “can” value our humanness. Because remember we chose to be here. So the vehicle of the mind, the vehicle of the body, we should be grateful for because it provides us with the necessary things that we need to function in human form. Yeah...I'm grateful for the body.
Alfred:
It is a crazy thing that I was trying to explain to a couple of students, it is the more spiritual you become, the more you can enjoy...truly enjoy, your human life. It is when you try to experience life as a human...always reflecting on the past, focusing on the future and that you don't get to enjoy your human life in the moment which is really where it is. So it's through spiritual practice that you truly can enjoy and experience life as a human.
Hans:
“If you understand spiritual principles and become grateful, there is nothing that can stop you in your imaginings...your wonderings...your dreams”. Because you become spiritual, it doesn't mean you can't function in a wonderful way in the human form. It doesn't mean that at all. I just saw an article on the Internet, and it talked about this man who came to the U.S. from the Ukraine, where they're currently having problems, and he came to the United States. When he landed he had $27.00. And he had $27.00 and he took that $27.00 and by the time he was finished, before he sold his company, he sold his company for $387,000,000. This is a man who had never been to High School. And they talked, and they said: "What was it in you that drove you to do this"? Spirit told me: “Hard work and intention". Hard work and intention. And along the way he found a beautiful lady. They got married and had 3 kids. And now they live somewhere in the Caribbean. It reminded me of "if we believe and we trust the Spirit, which is the intention, and we believe - everything that we would like to accomplish can be done”. And along the way, Alfred, we learn the lessons of "belief", which I think is the greatest lesson of all.
Alfred:
Belief, awakening, enlightenment, I think are the beginning steps. It's "are you maintaining your spiritual practices", "are you weeding your gardens on a regular basis", or do you just go into Cruise Control and without knowing, your garden gets overgrown with weeds and you can't recognize the weeds from the plants. And I've really found...
Hans:
"As a Man Thinketh"...
Alfred:
Yes. I've really found that the simple practice of "being grateful for what you have" will bring you back into your spiritual center. It'll bring you back from where your humaneness is trying to drag you away from.
Hans:
"Being grateful for the little things". Alfred and I have some flowers planted out in front here of our new place. We found this wonderful little Nursery. And for almost nothing, and I'm not kidding you when I say "almost nothing"... For almost nothing, we were able to get some potted bougainvillea and a couple of little potted palms and we made a beautiful little entryway. And people started coming by and saying: "That is so beautiful. This place never looked like that". And I said: "Well, it just needed a little TLC". And that's life. We just need a little TLC. Open the doors that lead you away from how your mind tends to destroy your life. You do this by "being grateful in the moment". "Being grateful for a friend”, “Having a conversation", "Being grateful that water comes out of the tap you can drink". "Being grateful" - this is the key. "Gratitude". Thanking Spirit for opening the doors so that you can learn. Whatever the lessons are. And being grateful for not being a victim of the circumstances that are created in your mind. Alright Alfred, that will conclude the Lesson for today.
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