"Creating" & "Manufacturing"

Lan Shu - Life & Spiritual Coach | Certified
May 18, 2016
5 min read

"Living in the Moment" is a very popular spiritual teaching. This principle arises from a realization that "the past is gone forever, and the future is yet to come. All we really have is this very MOMENT". Time is an illusion in itself. Suffering is created when we either dwell in the past events or worry about the future.

It is one thing to know something intellectually & intuitively, it is another thing to actually practice the spiritual principle in our daily life. There is always a transition phase where the old self is pushing the new self. I used to be a very organized (or controlling) person. I would do a yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily plan down to hours and minutes. I "arranged" myself to do certain things in certain time frame. This practice made me a very productive person, but it took "fun" and "meaning" out of my actions.

Lan Shu _ Blog_ Creating vs. Manufacturing

My attention was never solely on what I was doing at the moment, because I was always contemplating on what to do NEXT. I was always worried that I wouldn't finish a certain task on time because that delay would have a ripple effect on the rest of the events in that day, week and month. I wanted my daily schedule to be so organized and controlled that any "surprise" would shock or irritate me.

Of course, the Universe is great at teaching us by presenting the very thing we were trying so hard to avoid - what we resist will always persist. Things would always happen to interrupt my "well-scheduled" plans. I resisted those "things" even more because they made me lose control. My own reactions and intentions created a "negative spiral" in my life. "why would this happen to me?" "why can't things just be the way I wanted?" In reality, I wasn't Creating; I was "Manufacturing".

Nature teaches us great things - for example, you can't force a flower to blossom; but when it does, it will be a perfect sight despite any potential imperfections. The flowers won't drop their buds because of imperfections. The flowers don't schedule their blossoming. It just happens.

Through my spiritual journey, I have gradually learned to just go with the flow of my creative energy and let things be. I don't even remember exact when I stopped scheduling things on my planner. It just naturally happened.

However, adopting a new mindset and a way of living is not without its challenges. "Nothing" happens when neither the old self (left brain oriented) nor the new self (right brain oriented) wins the "battle". I was neither productive nor creative.

🔸I wasn't exactly "living in the moment" because I was so afraid of doing exactly the opposite of that principle; the creative force was blocked.

🔸I wasn't scheduling things either because I told myself "there was nothing to be done at the moment".

It was an idle stage that didn't last for long. I don't consider it a waste of time because it was a necessary stage for me to finally grasp the essence of "living in the moment" & the meaning of "BEING". I also realized that it shouldn't be a battle between the old self and the new self. There should, instead, be a collaboration and integration of the two. That's what eventually happened. I started to set intentions that is driven by my life purpose to serve others. Those intentions would then become the steering wheels of my creative flows. It is a perfect combination of the "Form" and the "Light".

I started getting my "focus" back. I was creating something every moment without any planning! I was immersed in the moment. If it is not for the fact that my body still needs to eat, I would have kept on working on my projects from day till night. This kind of behaviors might be considered "obsessive" according to society's standards, but I know I am not alone."Genius" doesn't come from extensive intellectual studies. Instead, "Genius" is born out of intensive "Focus" of the Creative Force. When I was "living in the moment", I don't feel tired, irritated or exhausted. I became a true "vessel" of Light or Creative Force. It was extremely liberating yet productive at the same time. I finally learned to "BE" when I accepted both my old self and the new self.

I am very happy with how my new career starts to taking shape. When I decided to stop working in the Commercial Real Estate Industry a few months ago, I didn't have a plan as to what to do next. All I knew is that I wanted to follow my heart and fulfill my soul mission. My friend asked me "so what are the steps you are planning on taking to fulfill your soul mission?" I told him "I don't know yet, but I will know when I am doing it". He looked really puzzled. My words were not something that could be comprehended by the "left brain". The problem in our society is that people are so afraid to take on any new project without becoming a "knowledge" expert in that project. More often than not, they would talk themselves out of the new project or the new ideas that they have. They would keep asking "what if this happens...?" "what happens if I need this?" All those questions, uncertainties, and insecurities eventually overwhelm them - they give up. When is the last time you do something spontaneously? How do you feel when you do something spontaneously? Isn't it so fresh and liberating? There is no schedule, no agenda, no motives?

The truth is I didn't know I would be doing everything I have done over the past few months when I changed my career. I didn't know I needed to come up with a brand name, design a logo, create a website, make a new business card, start writing blogs...etc. Everything happened one after another in a very natural sequence. If I let my "left brain" challenge me with all the "what if's" and "how's", I wouldn't have changed my career to fulfill my life purpose. It would seem like an impossible and daunting task for me.

One shadow aspect of wanting to schedule and control things is the fear of failure. We learned from a young age that we only get love, attention and respect when we succeed. We would be ridiculed, shunned or scolded when we fail. That shadow aspect became the best friend of our ego. Every time you attempt at something new, you will hear the voice inside you telling you all the things you need to do first before you can even start attempting at that project --"you have to get a degree or certificate", "you have to take a course first"...etc. We started to limit our beliefs, abilities and potentials. We started to "Manufacture" things "robotically" instead of consciously "Creating" the things and life we want.

"Manufacturing" requires a schedule, a standard, a rule, a quota, a deadline, and an expected outcome. "Creating" means that everything (even the steps) are created in the moment, in the BEING. There is no right or wrong timing, no right or wrong way, no rules to follow, no deadline to catch, no expectations, no pressure, and no ego-based fears.

The moment you become the real Creator of your life is when you will start having fun and living your life purpose! The moment you start "living" is when you start letting go of control. You will realize that Life is not about one over another, either or, this vs. that; Life is co-creating, co-existing - this AND that.