Rating Your Tempations from 1 to 10
Try this one on:
Next time feel inclined to do something you know goes against your values, rate how strong the temptation is….from 1 to 10.
Check out 3 of about a 1,000 examples from my life today:
- Tonight while working out, I felt like quitting….but it wasn’t very strong, probably only a 1 or 2. I pushed through it.
- I worked from home today….had distractions….frustration mounted. Negativity and rationalizations began creeping in. Pretty strong, about a 7……I could have done better with it.
- I wanted a second bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast. It was a solid 10+ (because it’s the best food on earth) and I folded, but enjoyed every morsel.
Win some…..lose some
But seriously, this mental exercise can actually play an important role in helping us make good decisions. No one’s exempt from temptation and whether you think the source is Satan, the ego, or your Lizard brain (Seth Godin reference) the first step is realizing that it doesn’t originate within us.
That’s why as soon as you play this little game you’ve already won half the battle: because it forces you to realize that it’s not you. It’s a force exerted on you from outside, maybe not from outside of our bodies, but certainly outside of our divine nature which is who we really are. This is the single biggest step to overcoming temptation: being the observer. Once you can observe, you have the potential to see the situation from an objective rather than subjective perspective. Once we realize that, “hey, this is that thing again” and take a second to quantify it, we can either dismiss it immediately or come up with a game plan to conquer it.
What helps you overcome temptation?
How do you deal with Cinnamon Toast Crunch?
Thomas Edison said……
Is abundance flowing into your life?
“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”
Assuming this is true, maybe we should take a moment to consider how much time we actually spend waiting…..and how our lives would change if we took full advantage it?
2 Things are required:
First, desire- which Mr. Edison so fully embodied.
And
Second, being prepared- Which is a matter of pre-planning, which requires forethought, which requires prioritization, which requires being proactive….and we find ourselves back at desire.
Making the most of life starts with our passion, from there we will find our way.
So once your there in the tire shop, waiting for the next appointment, or whenever the next spare 45 minutes pops up, remember that it’s more than an opportunity to simply check something else off our to-do list. It’s an opportunity to make ourselves one step closer to greatness.
Being a Spiritual Trash Collector
Does the negativity of others have you grouchy?
So I found myself sitting in my truck between appointments, trying to get some work done, and this dude pulls right beside me, opens his car door and throws a big bag of trash right on the stinking ground……and I’m in an empty parking lot!
Talk about getting me fired up! You can ask my wife, I really only have 2 pet peeves: one is discretely popping your gum, and the other is LITTERING. I mean, who did the dude think was going to pick it up.....little trash pixies or something? Anyway, I’ve heard that it’s not good to spend more than a moment or two focusing on the problem, so let’s talk about a solution.
In reality, most of us don’t have the audacity of this guy. We care enough about our surroundings to at least throw our own trash away. And some of us may even take time to clean up the trash left by others….and that’s the lesson in this for me today.
Being a Spiritual Trash Collector
Everywhere we go we witness people dumping their spiritual litter on the world. Strangers being rude to one another…..friends talking about one another behind their backs…..and family members holding grudges for extended periods of time. All caught in a vicious cycle of being offended and being the offender…….each negative act spiritually polluting the world.
The great news is that sometimes it’s just as possible to clean up the spiritual messes of others as it is for me to walk over and pick up that guy’s bag of trash. We certainly cannot remove the consequences of sin from an individual’s life….that’s between them and God. But we can sometimes remove, or at least diminish, the consequences of their actions on the rest of the world. Let’s take time to let our light shine when we witness (or participate) in such things. We can do this by sending our love, giving forgiveness, serving others, and just through understanding that we are interconnected with them and God. These simple acts will eradicate spiritual pollution from our presence.
Time to go pick up some trash.
What is Air Fasting and How Can It Bring Gratitude For Life?
What the heck is Air Fasting?
Air fasting is a means of increasing our gratitude for the most fundamental blessings of life and recognizing the abundance that flows freely from God. This is accomplished by a forced recognition our most basic human need..….Air. We can go for weeks without food, days without water, but only minutes without air; yet it is the most abundant resource we have. It fills the space around us and fills our lungs with the oxygen needed to sustain life.
Air fasting is a simple concept…..so simple you may dismiss it as foolish. But if done in a prayerful and meditative state, it will bring a high level of gratitude for life and a deeper connection with God.
How is Air Fasting Done?
First take several deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Feel the air flow in and out. Then take one last breath and hold it as long as possible. Pay close attention to your body’s response…..be the observer. Notice how your body transitions from a state of comfort, to an awareness of your need to breath, to full starvation of air. When you finally gasp for air you’ll take several quick involuntary breaths. After a few seconds when you regain composure, take several long deep breaths. With each breath reflect on the abundance with which God has blessed you. Feel the cool fresh air flow in and out and feel its life sustaining force replenish your body. Feel God in every breath and thank Him for every blessing in your life.
God is our Air
Air fasting brings to the for-front of our consciousness the degree to which we rely on resources we cannot provide, and forces us to be cognizant of the Provider. Furthermore, it demonstrates how our physical need for air represents our spiritual need for God. We gasp for spiritual breath after only moments of being without God…..and many are in a perpetual state of gasping. Let’s take time to be grateful. Let’s take time to acknowledge even our most fundamental blessings. As we recognize the hand of God in these most basic blessings we will live in a state of peace and gratitude and abundance will continue to flow into our lives.
Zen Master or Rugged Capitalist: Fusing the Dichotomy
Where art thou wise Yoda, in our time of Need?
Is it possible to pour your heart and soul into something without building an identity around it?
Is it possible to fully embrace the economic reality of our society without being “of the world”?
Three questions that have been on my mind lately, and I know the answer to each…is Yes.
Reconciling the Spiritual with the Physical
We are simultaneously faced with two opposing realities: we are both eternal beings AND temporary forms. Furthermore, it seems as though we are forced to focus our attention on either that which we need to sustain life but won’t last (the physical), or what we need to be happy, but won’t sustain life (the eternal).
Therefore, you find many people who fully embrace one end of the spectrum and neglect the other: on one side, a Buddhist monk who has relinquished all connection to the physical world; a pragmatic entrepreneur who disregards all things metaphysical on the other. Both are fully embracing life, but in my opinion both are incomplete. It's in finding the balance between the spiritual and physical, in splitting the Gordian knot down the center, that we find happiness in this life and success in both realms. But what could possibly motivate an individual to strive for something with all their being while simultaneously remaining in a state of inner peace regardless of the results?
Finding Meaning and Motivation in Life’s Higher Purpose
The essence of accomplishing this is finding a higher purpose for our existence, in something far greater than our self. This higher purpose, life mission, God’s plan for us, or whatever we wish to call it, instills within us a burning desire and passion for life, but also disconnects us from the results of our efforts. We have transcended the realm of the physical where results are manifested and we have now entered the eternal where we are no longer defined by the fruit of our labor, but by the mission itself.
What’s interesting is that this mission always centers on serving others and serving God, in which there is no difference. In Matthew 25:40, a mantra for my life, Jesus plainly states, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my bretheren you have done it unto me.”
Melding Mission and Money
This all sounds all fine and good, but we all know we can’t make a living helping the homeless or working at a food bank. So how do we incorporate our mission into our careers? In my opinion, your career, where you live, or any other aspect of your life situation is completely irrelevant to fulfilling your life’s mission. All that matters is that you give everything you have to fulfilling the measure of your creation, God will take care of the rest….He really will!
This is the essence of Christ’s teaching in Matthew 6:
“….Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth……But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also……Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on…….But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
So we can see that it’s through living these spiritual principles that we can find happiness in this life as well as the next. If we are passionate about embracing our eternal nature, God throws the physical in. If we make the temporal things of the world primary in our lives, we lose them both.
We look to Christ for the perfect example of life on earth. Not only did He transcend His physical nature, but He did it for us as well.
There are many examples of those who have achieved a high level of self mastery, but He is more than an example. We look to Him for our salvation. As the One who made it possible for us to be one with the Father and to transcend this world….giving us the ability to fuse the dichotomy between our spiritual and physical natures. To be able to strive without connection to results; to have ambition without an identity crisis; to live this life with hope and the knowledge that Love transcends all of the temporary circumstances we may find ourselves blessed to experience.
So imagine yourself living this principle…in full surrender of yourself and fully engaged in doing the will of the Father; giving your heart to fulfilling your life’s mission.
What can add or detract from your happiness?....nothing in this world.
Thanks for being here today.
Thoughts, comments, questions?
