Managing Our Human Will

It’s interesting to look at the different definitions of will. For example, there’s willful as in deliberate, intentional, planned, conscious. And then there’s willful as in headstrong, obstinate, uncooperative, pigheaded. Individualism can be defined as the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant. But the flip side of that is a self-centered feeling or conduct, egoism.

Have you ever said to yourself, “I’m going to get my way because I know what’s best for me”? The problem with this is that we can be very incorrect about what is best for us. Sometimes we get so full of ourselves we think no one else can know what’s best for us. It doesn’t matter what their experiences have been that have shown them a better way.

So that brings us to the spiritual concept of not our human will but God’s will. For example, in Luke 22:42 we read of how Jesus endured such pain at the crucifixion that he said, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

So what does Charles Fillmore say about the Power of Will? “The spiritual life in the subconscious (Children of Israel in Egypt) is often prevented from expressing itself by the opposition of the will.” Sometimes it’s really hard to do the right thing because we want revenge or validation or vindication or adoration for something we did. And that something might not have been our highest self-expression. I’m reminded of Michelle Obama’s remark, “When they go low, we go high.” But we don’t always follow that advice.

So how can we better manage our human will? Practice, practice, practice. The more often we respond to things with patience and compassion, the more likely we are to “go high” instead of low.