As we are the physical expression of our Soul, our function while in a body is to consciously integrate all of our Beingness into our physical expression. As our material world reflects our inner awareness, we can gauge our growth by the changes we see in our lives. As any parent wants only happiness and joy for a child, so our Creator wants nothing but that for us, ALL of us.

That IS our real desire, too, to be happy. So when we say "Thy Will be done", we are aligning our wills with the One, which can't fail to bring perfect results. Why, then, aren't all of our lives happy? Because our wills are not aligned, we have not integrated all of our Self into our consciousness, and therefore think we know what will make us happy (or unhappy).

We judge from our past, our limited physical experiences of pleasure and pain, and think we understand what we desire, and what we must avoid to escape pain. From our limited viewpoint, we cannot "see" that everything is One thing, One energy manifesting in many forms (see Light).

To express itself fully in material form, the One MUST divide itself into different "parts", each of which contain the Whole. But we must stretch our consciousness to include that wholeness, rather than separation.

When we are born into bodies, we are aware of the male or female half, and exhibit the predominant characteristics of that half. That half is unbalanced, and our lives reflect this imbalance until we achieve equilibrium. The male is dominated by his aggressive "macho", lustful self, while the female is dominated by the embracing, loving, emotional self. If we go through life focusing solely on what we know, that part of us becomes stronger and stronger.

Society today reflects this imbalance in dysfunctional lives and dysfunctional relationships. The abusive male seeks only his "pleasure" without compassion, without care or concern for others. The emotional female is paralyzed by fear of heartwrenching pain, and seeks to avoid any relationship that might lead to pain (see Hot Fudge Sundae).

Life teaches us by example, the more extreme the easier understood. When we understand our purpose is to learn, we see the lesson rather than judging the experiences, of ourselves or others, as "good" or "bad". We can then Love, rather than "fixing" others, and thereby learn to love ourselves.

My experience of the female emotional self within me (see Sex) led to even greater understanding of the need for balance in our lives. When I experienced the awesome power of the emotional self (see Grief), it was the "male" energy that allowed me to control, rather than IT controlling me.

In the past few weeks I have seen EXTREME examples of the emotional self controlling women's lives. One was horribly beaten on a regular basis while working to support an alcoholic husband. As she felt that he was the ONLY one that could love her, she could not leave. Another was working 13 to 14 hours a day, providing the sole income for her ex-husband and his girlfriend, whom he had brought to live in HER apartment. Though she could speak rationally and demand his respect on the telephone, his physical presence reduced her to a whimpering, fearful shadow of a human being. And another, a successful, highly intelligent professional, grandmother of twelve, became an emotional wreck from the fear of losing her husband after he had a near-death experience.

"All works together for good" (ACIM). From my observing of these examples without judgment, without seeing someone needing "fixing", I became more aware of Love. I could see that each of these women was creating her own lessons in life, and showing me the need for balance in my own life.