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by Steve Taylor, author of many books on spirituality and psychology including 
The Clear Light, The Leap, and The Calm Center

In general, there are three different modes in which we can live our lives: doing, thinking and being. Most of the day we’re busy doing – working in our jobs, doing chores, following our hobbies and enjoying ourselves in our free time. Thinking usually takes place between activities, when there’s nothing to occupy our attention, or during activities which are more repetitive and undemanding, when we don’t need to concentrate too much.

And being? Most people don’t spend much time being. Being occurs when we're relatively inactive and relaxing. It’s when our minds aren’t chattering away with thoughts, and when we aren’t concentrating our attention on tasks or activities. In this mode, we usually pay a lot of our attention to our surroundings, and to our own experience. We’re in this mode when we go for a leisurely walk, do sports such as swimming or running, meditate, do yoga or listen to music.

Of these three modes, our culture prizes the first two far above the third. Doing and thinking are seen as the engines of achievement. Thinking logically enables us to solve problems and come up with ideas. If we have a problem, we sit down and think it through. And doing – working and being busy – enables us to achieve our goals, to be productive, to make money and become successful.

But being is unproductive. It equates with laziness, and wasted time. Why waste our precious hours doing nothing when we could be filling them with activity and achievement?

The Benefits of Being

But this is misleading. Even in terms of achievement, relaxing and ‘doing nothing’ can be extremely beneficial. States of being and inactivity allow the creative potentials of the mind to manifest themselves. They allow insights and inspirations to flow. As I say in one of the pieces in The Clear Light:

I love the days of not needing
to be anywhere but now.
I love the days of not being productive
that become the most productive of all.
I love the days of doing nothing
that become gloriously full of being.

It’s in this state of being that ideas suddenly come to us, seemingly out of nowhere - when songwriters have ideas for songs, when writers have ideas for stories, when scientists suddenly ‘see’ the answers to problems that have vexed them, when inventors have ideas for new inventions. These creative potentials are usually blocked by the busy-ness of our minds and our lives. In order for them to emerge, both our lives and our minds have to become relatively empty and quiet.

This is why many - perhaps most - of the greatest discoveries, inventions and creative ideas in human history have not come about through ‘hard work’ or sustained logical thinking, but by doing nothing. That is, they have mostly occurred by accident, or unconscious intuition, in states of relaxation. The physicist Newton described how the ‘notion of gravitation came into his mind’ when he sat ‘in contemplative mood’ and saw an apple fall from a tree. (The apple didn’t actually fall on him, as is popularly believed.) The concept of coordinate geometry suddenly occurred to Rene Descartes when he was half asleep in bed, watching a fly buzz around the room.

A high proportion of the world’s great works of art were also inspired and conceived during moments of relaxed inactivity. The most recorded song of all time, "Yesterday" by The Beatles, was ‘heard’ by Paul McCartney as he was waking up one morning. The melody was fully formed in his mind, and he went straight to the piano in his bedroom to find the chords to go with it, and later found words to fit the melody. Mozart described how his musical ideas ‘flow best and most abundantly.’ when he was alone ‘traveling in a carriage or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep… Whence and how they come, I know not, nor can I force them.’

The Calm Center

I feel exactly the same about my own poetic reflections and meditations, published in The Clear Light. It’s difficult to say where the pieces come from. Most of them came as a surprise to me. I’ve learned not to expect them, or to wait for them. I only know that they tend to come at times when my life is fairly quiet, when I’m not busy with projects or duties, and free of pressure or deadlines. They tend to come when I have empty spaces of time to myself, and in a relaxed mood. In other words, they tend to come when I’m in the mode of being. They arise out of what I call ‘The clear light of the present.’

Since they arose from a state of being, it’s fitting that many of the pieces are about the importance of being. They describe how we need to be in order to regenerate our energies, to re-attune to ourselves, and to regain the feeling of well-being and connection to the world around us. Being belongs to the present, so we need to be in order to find the peace of presence, to resist the pull of the future and the past. We normally associate happiness with doing and having, but the most stable and the deepest well-being is that of being itself, which arises naturally when we stop striving to do or to have. As I say in the book,

Here there is no lack
only the wholeness of what is now.
Here there is no doubt
only the certainty of now.
Here there is no complexity
only the simple truth of now.

So why choose absence when we can be present?
Why be elsewhere when we can be here?

For me it’s wonderful that these pieces - which stem from the highest or deepest aspects of my own nature - seem to have the power to reach people’s highest, deepest selves too. This is one of the great things about art, be it music, poetry or painting - it’s a channel through which we can transmit our experience. If you feel ecstatic, sorrowful or awestruck you can express and capture your state of being in a piece of music or a painting. Your state of being or emotion becomes encapsulated in the piece, and it remains there, fresh and timeless, for any receptive listener to absorb. A piece which was written 300 years ago can be as fresh and inspiring as a piece which was written yesterday. This is especially true of spiritual art - spiritual poetry, spiritual music, or visual arts. At the spiritual level our connection is deepest and strongest. The spiritual is the ground of all our being, where individual differences fade away — in fact, where individuality itself fades away. At the spiritual level, we expand beyond distinctions of gender, ethnicity or religion, and touch into a common core. So insights and experiences from the spiritual level can be communicated very powerfully, without any barrier or interference. As I say in the book:

We are each other.
Every human being’s feelings flow
like currents of air through the atmosphere
of our communal being —
brushing each other’s souls
touching each other’s hearts
stirring mutual compassion.

The portal to these spiritual depths is a state of being. Being is the source of both creativity and spirituality.

Steve Taylor is the author of several bestselling books on psychology and spirituality, including The Clear Light, The Leap, and The Calm Center. His articles and essays have been published in over 50 academic journals, magazines and newspapers, including Scientific American and Psychology Today. Since 2011, he has appeared annually in Watkin’s Mind Body Spirit magazine’s list of “the world’s 100 most spiritually influential living people.” He lives in Manchester, England, with his wife and three children. Find out more about his work at www.stevenmtaylor.com.

Excerpted from the book The Clear Light. Copyright ©2020 by Steve Taylor. Printed with permission from New World Library.

For the past month or so, my boyfriend and I have had money seem to just disappear from the house and even the car a number of times. The first time was over $500, and I believe that one of my boyfriend's "friends" took it. A psychic confirmed this. The second time, my boyfriend dropped me off at work, and I left $250 in my glove compartment. There were three people in my car (including my boyfriend) while I was gone. Later I noticed $200 was missing. Shortly after this, I noticed the $2 bills my boyfriend and I had been collecting were missing from my closet. Mind you, I have been very conscious of who comes into my home. Finally, last night while my boyfriend made me dinner, I counted my money three times. I sat on the bed while doing this, and put the $360 I had counted in my pants pocket with a tight rubber band around it. My boyfriend had no knowledge of this because he was downstairs cooking me dinner. After dinner, he came up and we went to bed. I kept waking up during the night with a weird feeling. In the morning we both got up at the same time, and he left before me to take his brother's girlfriend to work. I noticed that my pants weren't as I had left them, and $100 of the $360 was missing. I immediately called my boyfriend and asked if he took any money out of my pants. He told me no, that anytime he needs money, he always asks me and wouldn't just take it. Now I know it looks like he's been doing it, but I don't feel that in my heart. Am I going nuts? The reason it was in my pocket was because I was taking it to the bank the next day. Help! (I was born on 10/30/81. My boyfriend was born 5/12/74.)
Jessica

Dreamchaser:

Jessica, there is one common denominator in all of these stories: your boyfriend. I know you don't want to believe it, but it sure looks like he is the one who has been taking your money.

As far as the first loss goes (the one a psychic confirmed for you), I do believe one of his friends took it. Once your boyfriend figured out how easy it was to steal from you, however, he started to as well. He may even have been an accessory to the first robbery. At the very least, he found out after the fact and didn't make his friend return your cash.

One thing concerns me even more than your boyfriend stealing from you. It's the following line: "He told me that anytime he needs money, he always asks me and wouldn't just take it."

So you just give him money when he asks for it? Why would you do that? Are you married? If you are handing out money so freely, may I please have some? If you have to buy someone's affections, you're going end up empty-handed.

I want you to also consider that your boyfriend could have a substance abuse problem, and this may be why he is stealing money in the first place. This problem has him burning through his own money, the money that he asks you and others for, and even the money he now takes wherever he can find it. It's time for you to become aware of what is really going on with him.

Some symptoms of a substance abuse problem include:

- abrupt changes in attendance and work quality at school or work
- unusual outbreaks of temper
- withdrawal from responsibility
- changes in general attitude
- deterioration of physical appearance and grooming
- wearing sunglasses at inappropriate times
- wearing long-sleeved shirts in hot weather, or a reluctance to wear short-sleeved attire when appropriate
- association with known substance abusers
- unusual borrowing of money
- stealing small items from employers, home or school
- secretive behavior regarding actions and possessions
- frequent trips to the restroom, storeroom, etc.

Please face the truth and do something to save yourself.

I wish you enriching relationships.

*****

Astrea:

I'm not inclined to think your boyfriend is taking your money, even though it would seem to be the most logical explanation. A Taurus is usually too truthful and honest to do something like that, especially when someone they love is involved.

I CAN tell you that it's not a Spirit manifestation of any kind, and that money doesn't walk away by itself. The thief is someone who comes in and out of your home, and even has a key to do so. It might be a landlord or a security person, but I seriously doubt anyone like that would take the chance of being discovered, or do something like that over and over again. Also, this person has a key that you don't KNOW about and didn't GIVE to him - he stole that too!

I feel the psychic who told you that a friend of your boyfriend's took the money was right. I got a very funny feeling when you mentioned that he left to take his brother's girlfriend to work. Whoever is taking your money at your home also rides in your car, so this is someone you think you know well. Also, I feel it's a man, not a woman. This person also knows your paydays and the day of the month when you're most likely to have a sizeable amount of cash in the house.

Unfortunately, as long as you have that much cash in your possession, you're going to be a target for theft. Putting a tight rubber band around those bills isn't going to keep sticky fingers out of your pockets! Thieves know all the right "hiding places" for cash. Most of us are pretty predictable about where we hide things.

The best and most efficient way to put a stop to this is to stop having any large amounts of cash in your home for a while. Get a new bank account that does not have an ATM card to go with it, as that could be stolen. Keep your checkbook under your pillow at night for a while, and NEVER leave cash in the glove compartment of your car!

The most cash you should keep on you is about $20. Change all the locks on your doors so that this person who has copied your key doesn't have access to your home. Move any collections of change or $2 bills to your parents' house.

My grandmother used to say that it was just as much a sin to leave temptation to sin lying around as it was to fall into the sin itself. All that cash is just too tempting for someone in your circle to resist. While you are not to blame for this thief's actions, if you don't have money around, no one will be tempted to steal it!

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.