Best Of The Aware Show with Guy Finley: Sept 11th Anniversary

Sept 11, 2024, marks the 23rd anniversary of one of America’s darkest days. To shed light and understanding about the collective grief and trauma so many faced, we are joined by spiritual teacher and best-selling author Guy Finley. Guy is the Founder of Life of Learning Foundation and the best-selling author of “Letting Go,” “The Secret of Letting Go,” and more than 25 other books. His books have sold millions of copies in multiple languages worldwide. Today he talks about how to look at tragedy and specifically addresses 9/11 and the pain that ensued. He shares how 9/11 changed us and also taught us resilience. He asks us to ask ourselves have we learned the lesson in that pain, both as a nation and as a collection of individuals? And if we have not, then did that event unite us in a new understanding? Or did it divide us further? 

Whether a national tragedy or a personal situation, how can we learn the lesson of pain? When we come upon a tragedy, it may also divide us further. Guy deeply examines the nature of “blame” and how it is so difficult for us not to blame. Typically, the first reaction to tragedy is to point the finger. After 9/11, our freedoms were affected literally overnight.  Who is to blame? If tragedy doesn’t change us, it becomes vague. What did this situation reveal to us about ourselves? What freedoms have we taken for granted? Prior to 9/11, security was much different at the airports. 

How can we use these unwanted moments? Do we go into panic? Guy says there is no psychological fear without negative imagination. So commonly, the pain makes us place blame. When we can recognize it, we can realize it serves no purpose to blame. We can liberate ourselves from a mind with a negative imagination. 

We can liberate our minds from the past. We can realize that each moment is new.  There is a way to train ourselves to process the negativity. This is a different level of consciousness. The solution to the suffering is to realize that the pain has no idea what to do. We cannot buy into the negativity and continue to place blame. We must change as individuals before we can see change in our world. 

Guy asks us to consider, “What is your relationship with the Divine?” In the moment when there’s a problem or pain, when we resist it, we are resisting our reaction to it. It seems to threaten us. When we resist, we feel attacked. It’s a misunderstanding of the event. So, how do you illuminate the event to come to a new conclusion?  

Silence can help. If anxiety is guiding you, then fear and negativity are the rulers at that moment. Anger, fear, and worry all lead us toward negativity. What we give our attention to is what we are in relationship with. This guides our experience.  

If we are afraid, there’s something that believes the fear is real. According to Guy, “The fear is real but the ‘Why’ is a ‘Lie.’” Our lower brain creates a response of tension. Guy offers prayers to allow the Divine to let us know the truth. He also teaches free classes online twice a week. Info: GuyFinley.org  and GuyFinley.org/online for free classes.