Detachment

[Yacoob]

how can you fully detach yourself from your feelings, your thoughts and your own will in order for God's will to begin to work in your life and to begin to hear his voice to see what he is calling you too and your true vocation in life

[MarysLittleFlower]

Great question! One thing you can do is - ask Our Lady to obtain the grace for you to give your will to God. Then, each morning, say a prayer giving your will to God, asking for His Divine Will, and intending for all your actions that day to be according to His Will. Then, throughout the day, make sacrifices to God of your own will... It can just be little everyday things! Like wanting a certain food, wanting to do a certain thing, etc... Try to purify your intention. If you really want to do something, try to give it up. Don't get discouraged if at first there is a lot of failing in this, but each time you fail just renew your intention again. Based on what I read about God's Will, accepting His Will in the big things, begins with the little everyday things... Here is what seems helpful:

- mortify your self will in everyday situations
- accept anything God allows in His direct or permissive Will, including suffering... Trusting in His constant goodness is important here
- things like frequent Sacraments and more mental prayer is important to open up to God to 'hear' Him, but seek only His Will, do not seek any experience / revelation, that could come from pride and lead to deception
- ask Our Lady every day to obtain this for you. She always said 'yes' to God and did nothing according to her will.

You might be interested in a book from TAN publishers called Abandonment to Divine Providence.

Also, a Servant of God named Luisa Piccarreta received many revelations on how to reach the height of sanctity by living in the Divine Will. Most of her writings have Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, but the Bishop asked for them to not be published right now because the Church is working on an official edition of her writings that will be free from mistranslations etc. Also only priests are allowed to publically teach on this, if they have permission. This is not because she is suspect of any heresy but because of mistranslations and past misunderstandings. Two of her books were even banned in the past but they were copies that were edited by another person. Currently, the Bishops of her diocese in Italy have been very supportive and the present Bishop is even organizing an international congress on her, and he asked that her life story be more known. Some people online misunderstand her writings, insert heresies that aren't there and are against her spirituality for that reason, but the Bishop has a totally different view and wrote various letters on this. So did the previous Bishop. She had a very amazing life and her confessor is a canonized Saint! If you're interested, it might inspire you to read her life because she talked all the time about God's Will... Even though in obedience, we have to wait till the approved edition comes out to read her writings. People are allowed I think having the books that were published with Imprimatur before 1998, if you come across any... The reason I'm mentioning all this is because I have found her spirituality extremely helpful and her life is very inspiring so I'd recommend reading her life a bit first. The teachings need God's grace to be undersood, in my opinion. But its all about God's Will and how to make it truly reign in the greatest possible way... We still keep our faculty of willing but act only according to His Will, at every moment.

God bless you!

[MarysLittleFlower]

Also, if you want to understand your vocation it will be important I think to learn to open up to God and let Him guide you... Mental prayer can do that and there are lots of great books about it, like The Ways of Mental Prayer. Success in mental prayer seems to depend on generosity :) are you giving everything to God? And your will too? Its a journey getting there for us all but the more you do it, the closer you come to Him in prayer, the more He acts in your soul, the better your Communions are... Its about improving the disposition.

[TheresaThoma]

I think a big part of detachment is allowing yourself to have desires, feelings, thoughts etc but to not let them rule you. I've been learning this quite a bit in my current job search and working as a temp worker. When I interview or apply for a job obviously the desire is there for the job. But I still have to remain detached, basically I put the application in or do the interview but after that I just say a prayer. Place it in God's hands and keep moving forward. It has taken a good bit of time and a lot of prayer to get to that point but there is a freedom in doing so.

Also keep in mind grace builds on nature. so your thoughts and feelings may be the way God is speaking to you. But test everything in prayer and speaking with a good friend or spiritual director. 

[Swami Mommy]

Through meditation, learn to remain centered throughout the day in that part of you that witnesses your life without judgment. Even our natural feelings that arise can be witnessed without buying into the story line behind them. Practice relaxing your heart and keeping it open to whatever occurs. Since God is present in all things as the formless support of the entire world and its energetic movements, exerting one's will by resisting the present moment and all it contains will only keep a person stuck in their limited small self and will prevent one from recognizing and accepting God's Will. 'This too is God' is a good way to remember to relax into letting God direct the flow of your life when you come up against resistance within your own mind or heart to an external event which is intrinsically neutral.