4 – OVERWHELMED – CTW-2022-E

CHALLENGED TO WIN by Gregory Fernandez

Chapter 4 – OVERWHELMED

There comes a stage when we feel we have tried everything, and nothing seems to work; that is when we experience a sense of being ‘FLOORED.   Human nature is infinitely complex, and no two problems are alike.   There are no exact formulas ­. People seeking help often experience the following:

  1. A) Struggling to overcome the problem and
  2. B) Failing.

Their frustration usually sounds like, “I’ve tried EVERYTHING! What on earth shall I do now?”

Hopeless though things may seem, this is a perfect point to reach because of fresh and winning ideas.   In our distress, we have found a door that gives us solutions greater than our fallen nature can provide.

The answer is simply this:  Within each of us, an all-wise creator has placed a marvellous reservoir of courage, energy, and wisdom that we seldom use.   This reservoir is the subconscious and the unconscious mind.   Like a dynamo, it furnishes the power to drive our lives. This power takes many forms.   One of which we call intuition.   This voice from the unconscious produces insights for creative thinkers like designers, poets, scientists, inventors, etc.

The power that the unconscious can provide is almost limitless; we all know of individuals who, when in a crisis, could perform incredible feats of strength or endurance.   But the circuits that bring the power from the unconscious can be blocked by destructive emotions like frustration, tension, anxiety, fear, guilt, hate, sustained anger, etc.   And that is what is happening to most individuals who seek help.   They fight so furiously on the conscious level in their attempts to solve their problems that they mismanage their emotions and consequently reach frustrating results.

But how, then, does a person tap the tremendous reservoir of power locked within oneself? First, the person must develop habits and attitudes that will unblock and deepen the channels between the conscious and the unconscious mind and let that power flow.   What are these habits and attitudes?   They have a familiar ring because centuries ago, religion identified them.

 

THE FIRST STEP:

TRUST and BELIEVE in the hidden power within yourself.   A Psychiatrist might say, have faith in your unconsciousness. A clergyperson might say, Have faith in God.   I see no conflict between the two ideas.   The Bible tells us that,

LUKE. 17:21

21 “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU.”   

 

THE SECOND STEP:

Be willing to SURRENDER your problem.   Get rid of the notion that you are all-powerful and can run your life successfully without help from God.   The more complete you make this surrender, the more remarkable the results will be.

Doctors and counsellors constantly encounter cases of healing when people have reached the absolute end of their resources ­ physical, emotional, and spiritual.   They had done everything, and the doctors had done everything. Finally, nothing was left but surrendered to the vital force we call GOD.

In marriage breakdowns, a couple must hit rock bottom and give up before the illusion of ‘SELF-SUFFICIENCY’ or ‘PRIDE OF INTELLECT’ can be broken.   In other words, we must move past self-sufficiency before the curative forces in the unconscious can go to work.

 

THE THIRD STEP:

PRAYER – Regardless of one’s creed or denomination, one must accept the concept of an Almighty Creator who is the source of life and loves us- A God to whom we can turn in trust and humility.   Here again, the surrender of self is necessary.   We must come to that point where we are willing to accept a statement like: “Dear God, not my will, but Thy will be done.” Astonishing results happen when we have this attitude.   Whether you call it mobilizing the unconscious or surrendering to God, PRAYER is a channel through which enormous power can flow.

 

THE FOURTH STEP:

Learn to relax creatively.   Tensions must be at a minimum before the unconscious mind can function effectively.   The secret is to, Praise and Thank God.   It is not easy to praise and thank God when things go wrong. Praise and Thanksgiving to God, however, work amazingly.

 

THE FIFTH STEP:

TALK POSITIVELY to yourself.   Whatever your fears, worries, anxieties, or other burdens, consciously tell yourself I am breathing my concerns out completely.   Then when you inhale, breathe in as fully as you can and tell yourself you are taking in God’s love, Courage, Confidence, and Healing.   Just think of only one thought during each inhalation or exhalation. Then, you can breathe your failures out and breathe in your success.

 

It is, of course, confirmed that the person only breathes simple air.   But the unconscious mind takes these signals from the conscious mind quite literally and responds with the same needed qualities.   Every doctor has seen cases in which a desperately ill patient miraculously recovers because the patient feels his family needs him and decides he will not die.   Again, the Bible summarizes it with matchless brevity,

PROVERBS. 23:7.

“FOR AS HE THINKETH IN HIS HEART IS HE.”  

Thought is important:

PROVERBS. 23:7 “FOR AS HE THINKETH IN HIS HEART (NOT HIS CONSCIOUS MIND, NOTICE, BUT HIS HEART), SO IS HE.”    

The thing to remember then is this: Each of us has, in our unconscious mind, power and strength and courage past all imagining.   Sometimes we fail to use this strength because we do not know it exists.   Sometimes we delude ourselves into thinking we do not need it.   Sometimes we block it with fear or guilt, or tension.   But the ability to win is most assuredly there.

Advice like “Do not try” should not be given (or taken).   Man must make every effort with his conscious mind first. Then, after making a complete, honest, conscientious effort and there is no success, the best thing to do is stop struggling and let the great creative forces of the universe come to your rescue.   St. Paul puts it like this:

EPHESIANS 6:13

13 “HAVING DONE ALL, STAND.”

—

The full text is:

EPHESIANS 6:13-14

13 “THEREFORE TAKE UP THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD, THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND IN THE EVIL DAY, AND HAVING DONE ALL, TO STAND.  

14  STAND THEREFORE, HAVING GIRDED YOUR WAIST WITH TRUTH, HAVING PUT ON THE BREAST PLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.”   

Having done all, St. Paul advises us to stand! Stand quietly.    St. Paul meant, Wait, Relax, and accept the help that will come to you of the mysterious realm, which psychiatrists call the unconscious ­, and St. Paul called, The Power of God.

With understanding FLOORED, we have finally decided to leave the problem in God’s hands. Let us try to equip ourselves with some explanations about God.   There is no doubt that we will never understand everything there is to know about God but let us try to pray with our feeble human minds and leave God to lead the way as He knows best.   But before we go on to the explanation about God, we will go through the chapter on Relationships.

God Bless You.