The EDGE | From the Editor Water Walking: Follow the Path of the Inner Flow by Editor, Tim Miejan You are safe. You have all the resources at hand that you need to solve all of your difficulties, to alleviate all anxiety and to be at peace. Do you believe that? At times, nothing seems farther from the truth. But it is so. Don't take my word on it, but rely upon the spark of infinite wisdom and light of God that is within you. Neale Donald Walsch, despite all the fame and notoriety he has received, continues to preach the same sermon over and over again. He tells us that each of us has a direct connection with God, and that God speaks to us every day. "Walk down a dusty road and just listen to the Earth and listen to the wind and listen to the water rushing through a stream," he says. "Native Americans understood this perfectly. They would go off on a vision quest and just sit there and do nothing but listen to the planet and come back with incredible clarity." Neale says this is not only possible, but a sure thing -- for all of us. But do we listen to him? Do we try speaking directly with God? And how many of us quit trying to speak with God the very first time when we heard nothing but silence from the other side? Probably a lot of us. We expect the voice of God to suddenly resonate with booming clarity like we see in the movies or on TV. We don't have the patience to pick out the subtle direction of the divine that the wind whispers in our ear. There are myriad distractions that make it extremely difficult to hear those whispers. As Deepak Chopra writes, we're addicted to the adrenalin rush of our fast-paced lives ("traffic snarls, bad-tempered sales people, impersonal officials and callous interactions at work"), addicted to anxiety ("from high-speed traffic and jet flight to corporate downsizing and the tumbling stock market") and addicted to crisis ("terrorism, plane crashes, economic collapse and crime"). Because of those addictions, we find nothing but boredom in the still peace within ourselves. Yet that boring, peace-filled space is where the answers lie. They are contained in our ability to be present to the moment we find ourselves in, where time is stopped and the bird on the branch looks you in the eye, where the deer in the woods glances at you, and you know you are related. It's the ability to be present to the moment when the traffic is snarling and the crowd is gawking at the latest hit-and-run on the expressway. When the kids are yelling and the phone is ringing and your cat sits nearby and sits serenely, telling you everything is OK. "You may be familiar with the phrase, 'You are a human being, not a human doing,' " writes Gretchen Hansen. "This phrase is full of truth. The point of power and clarity you desire cannot be realized through the mental-physical process of doing. It can only be found in the calm, still point of power known as the present. Learn to be as fully as you can in every passing moment. You will be surprised at how quickly you will then move to activating your heart's desire." We are all but a breath away from being in clear synchronicity with our heart's desire. I picture that space of true alignment as a flowing stream. In my life, I am in and out of the water. I'd like to say that I walk one foot after another in the wetness with each passing moment, but I often find myself struggling to hear the water and move back that direction. A key is being able to step out of myself and get a clearer view of where I am in relationship to the flowing stream. When I continue to trudge in the mud and do nothing to change my course, I will continue to curse the circumstances, rarely acknowledging my failure to move. It is my choice in each present moment to stay where I am -- or not. SEPT 2001