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“Make Yourself a Vessel”

Posted on December 1, 2019 by Donna Quesada | Leave a comment

I had been feeling anxious lately. Deep down, I knew why. It was because I had become slack on maintaining my daily connection with Source. Before, I could often channel words of comfort and wisdom from certain spirit guides during times when I was feeling deeply in need. I knew I was missing that connection and that this was why I had been feeling anxious and overwhelmed lately.

It had been many months… or maybe a year since receiving a channeled message. Besides St. Anthony, and one female, in angelic form, who I only know as “Niyah,” one of the spirit guides that I have been able to communicate with is Yogi Bhajan, who left his body in 2004 and was the teacher of my teacher.

Tratakum Meditation Image

My teacher, Guru Singh, once told me that he uses the Tratakum meditation image of Yogi Bhajan to connect to him, on a regular basis. So, I decided to go back to this practice, and in the first session, I received a very clear message:

Make yourself a vessel.
Make yourself a vessel.
Make yourself a vessel.

Then, only a minimum of explanation…

You are taking on too much, energetically. You are making it about you and from you. That is why you are getting sick and anxious and tired. Let us work through you. We are infinite. In that way, you take none of it on, energetically.

Ahh… like Krishna’s flute. When you make yourself hollow and empty, like his flute, the Divine fills you up with grace and infinite blessings. God’s breath blows through you. Your actions come from unlimited source.

In this way, life doesn’t have to be hard. The idea is to let grace work through us. Our work should be to align with God/spirit/the divine, so that we are simply the vessel. And like Krishna, who was known for his playful spirit and good humor, we too, can take care of things without it feeling like exertion and drudgery. We can learn not to take ourselves so seriously.

To use Esther Hicks’ expression, we go around “efforting” because we’ve been taught that we must toil… we must push our rocks, like Sisyphus, in order to reap any rewards and make life meaningful. Our well-meaning elders knew no other way.

In our continuing evolution, we can work in a more exalted way… let divine work through you.

Be playful, like Krishna!

Picking a Bone with Jobs’ Quote

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Donna Quesada | 3 comments

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

— Steve Jobs

I like Steve Jobs. And I like to follow my heart. But, with due respect, I still think this oft quoted passage is problematic and needs a more balanced perspective—here are some of the reasons why:

1. Not everyone has the privilege of doing “what they believe is great work.” Millions of people in the world are doing jobs that may not have been their primary career choice—and that is putting it politely. For example, they may be making the small parts that no one sees, the parts that run the machines that guys like Steve Jobs envisions. They are the tasks many of us would call drudgery, but many are simply glad and thankful to have the work at all, at a time when choices are limited. Perhaps they’ll make a change later, but should they be miserable until then because they don’t believe the work is “great work?” (Changing their belief is therefore the place to start, which brings me to #2.)

2. And about the claim that “the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work,” it seems to me that what you believe can be changed. You don’t have to marry your beliefs. Beliefs are just beliefs and they change with our maturity level and with our experiences and with 150 other reasons. Heck, they change from day to day—they sway like the palm trees in the wind and can be influenced by our ever-changing perspectives. Thank goodness; that means we’re growing! Thus, I would change “the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work” to “the only way to be truly satisfied is to find the greatness in what it is you do.”

3. Finally, toward the notion that, “like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on,” I would like to serve up a reality check—what makes great relationships great, is when all parties understand that it’s not always fun and it doesn’t always “feel good.” All relationships have their ups and downs. And equally so with the work we do. It won’t always be the way you dreamed it would be, you won’t always feel like going, and you might one day feel like you don’t like your job anymore. It seems to me that the truly liberated and wise will take those days in stride and remember not to get caught up in those temporary feelings. And from a clear connection to the importance of what it is they are doing—because everything has its place and purpose, along with a good dose of gratitude, they will undoubtedly maintain a consistently cheerful attitude.

We might liken this cheerful person—who finds the beauty in what it is he does—to the Greek mythical character, Sisyphus, who continues to push his rock with a smile…without telling himself that the task is ridiculous and absurd.